Chapter 30: The Lost Brother
(this section will focus on Loz as the speaker) I was driving my motorbike and heading back to Tifa's towards the end of the day. I wasn't speeding the way I always did when i travelled by myself, though; just going at a normal pace. Just when the war and the struggles seemed to finally be over, there was still too much going and an excess of unfinished work to focus on. I was so exhausted ever since Little Sister vanished, I haven't been feeling like myself at all. All of this craziness was simply too much for me. I arrived in town and parked outside Tifa's home, slowly getting off my motorbike. I went inside, and Tifa turned my way and said "Welcome home, Loz! Dinner is all set to go, so don't worry about going hungry from that hard work." I replied "Thanks, Sister. I'll enjoy calling it a day." Tifa flashed me a confused glance, and asked "Loz, are you ok? You're not looking or sounding too good..." I answered "I'm fine, but everything in JENOVA Kingdom has been so hectic since rescuing Father and making the peace settlement with SAKUI's kind... It's just too much to take in at once for me, Tifa..." I sat down at the kitchen table, and she sat across from me. She seemed worried about me. Tifa asked "Are you tired, Loz? You haven't come back wanting to play at all... something must've happened. Are you ok, big guy?" I knew everything, but I didn't want to talk about it. I just wanted everything to be back to normal so I could relax again. I knew she wouldn't say anything until I told her, though. I replied "It's a long story, but the day we were assigned to make preparations for Mother's wedding and Father's coronation, things came up, and..." I explained the story to Tifa as best I could. She listened in silence the entire time. After I finished, she said "Oh my goodness... that's terrible! Why didn't you tell me this before, Loz?" I began crying quietly but didn't respond. Tifa went on "Loz, if you told me about Sephieroth's death, I could've been there to help you and what was left of Mother's guard. I know you were too sad and desperate to think about anything but getting her a Reunion, but if you don't tell me what's going, Brother, I can't do anything to help..." I replied "You're right... I'm sorry... she's back now thanks to JENOVA Lifestream's current master, Aerith, but she's in a lot of pain from a powerful, forced Reunion. Mother called it the Ultimate Reunion... other than this, I don't know anything else." I shook my head and forced my tears aside. Tifa added "Oh you poor guy... you've been through a lot. Don't be sad though, ok? I'm sure she'll be ok. Brother Rufus of JENOVA Foundation really knows his stuff, so I know we can count on him to help her too." I nodded, then said "He does, you're right. I'm glad Mother has a skilled scientist like him in the family. Without him, who knows how JENOVA Kingdom would be doing right now? He works so hard to advance technology and create a better future for Mother's family... and he enjoys it, too!" Tifa smiled at me and giggled, then said "See? You know we can count on him to keep her from fading into Mother's lifestream again. He certainly knows what he's doing." We both laughed. I said "He does, you're right. I'm not surprised Mother put him in charge of research at the foundation. But, when I saw Little Sister in Mother's arms, she reverted back to her larva state, and she would barely move... when she talked, even though she smiled and even laughed a bit, she sounded so weak... I'm worried about her, Sister..." Tifa added "Is that why you came back sad? You're afraid she won't make it?" I nodded, and replied "Mother said she should be ok, but I'm still worried... if she doesn't survive, then Mother will be sad again.... I can't bear to see that..!" Tifa replied "You're very overwhelmed, Loz. I know you are. Nothing went the way it was planned, and then things got hairy all over again... I know why that's too much for you, especially since you, Yazoo, and Kadaj have been fighting this battle your entire lives. But I don't want to see you suffer like this, Loz. Is there anything I can do that would make you smile again?" Suddenly, my tears stopped completely, and I had a vision. I was in an endless white space, standing face to face with a man with long silver hair who had a brutal build like mine, his arms on my shoulders. He wore black leather clothing much like mine. I found myself looking at my closest childhood Brother: Glade. I cried "Big Brother Glade! It's been so many years... where are you?" Glade replied "It matters not where I am, but how you're doing, young Loz. That's all that matters to me, Little Brother." I began "Don't talk like that... you know I wanna be together again! That horrible day, on Yazoo's and my birthday... the day we were cornered by your dad Cloud and his crew of monsters, and you fought them all yourself just so the three of us could escape and live... You never came back home, to the Forgotten City, and in my dreams, Mother told me that they--they killed you...!" I leaned against him, crying heavily. Glade wrapped his arms around me and said "I know you were heartbroken, Loz... I'm sorry, I really am... please forgive me, Brother. I know we were the closest Brothers anyone could imagine. But that was why I told you and the rest of Mother's gang to run from that battle. I knew none of you could defeat my dad's team, and I wasn't even sure I could. My father by himself was one thing: I knew I had a chance there. His entire band was a different matter, though. But I risked my life anyway. Ever since Mother accepted me and granted me Purification, I swore an oath to protect you, Loz. This was why I told you to run and go home--even if it meant I would not make it back. I know it left you in sadness when you knew I was dead, Brother... but I did what I had to just to protect you." I said "Brother..! I was so scared... I thought we were done for that day..!" Glade brushed his hand through my hair, smiling and said "I know it wasn't easy, but look at how far you and Mother have come! You didn't die fighting, Loz; you survived! And that's all that is important to me, Little Brother. Don't let that ugly past ruin your life, Loz... go with Tifa, and find happiness together. All I ever wanted was to see you smile and laugh like you always did when you were with me. I know Tifa can be the same way for you, even if you aren't so sure. Let that mellow woman bring smiles and joy to your life, Loz... just like I did. Find happiness with her, and get the happy ending I wanted for you." My tears slowed, and I looked him in the eye. He was smiling at me the way he always did when he would try to cheer me up. I smiled back, and said "Big Brother... thank you." Glade playfully shoved me off and said "Now go, young Loz. Go play! And not by yourself--with her!" I laughed and ran elsewhere, and then the vision faded. I realized Tifa was shaking me, crying "Loz! Wake up!" I shook my head, looking around. I was still in her house. She stopped shaking me, and said "Don't do that to me! I thought you crashed!" Remembering where I was, I said "Sorry, Sister... It's just, I saw someone I really loved from my childhood in JENOVA SOLDIER just now, and he told me to forget about the family's ugly past, and..." Tifa questioned "Huh? Loz... who are you talking about?" I began "I'm not surprised you don't remember, but... when me and Yazoo were 13, and Little Sister Kadaj was 10, there was one member of JENOVA SOLDIER besides the three of us. His name was Glade. Formerly part of Cloud's family, he joined our gang when he was 12. Surprisingly, Mother granted him Purification within very little time... and on my behalf, nonetheless. Glade was my closest sibling after he received Mother's cells and got his silver hair and green eyes... in fact, I never left his side. Literally. I would follow him everywhere we went when we were kids... in fact, if not for my dear Brother's heroics, I probably wouldn't be here right now. Shortly after he joined our side of the Shinra war, both of us got up early one morning to play outside together. However, things went awry very quickly: we were ambushed, and woke up later to find each other tied up at Shinra Headquarters. Cloud Strife and Rufus Shinra stood before us both. I knew that if Cloud took one of Mother's children prisoner, he had intent to kill. I was very scared, Sister..." Tifa asked "Why did Cloud take you guys?" I answered "He did it to lure Yazoo and Kadaj to Shinra HQ. More than likely, this was a death trap for all of us. He knew they would respond with haste which is why he brought us there. He even left a message on Kadaj's phone telling them he had me at Shinra Headquarters. However, Glade broke his ropes before long, and stood up to his monster of a father... all to save me and divert Shinra's attention. Of course, Cloud tried to make him have second thoughts about helping Mother, but it was pointless. Glade remained true to Mother, even in front of his father. They ended up fighting each other after Glade sucker punched Rufus and knocked him out. To my surprise, Glade's physical strength rivalled even his dad's skilled swordfighting. He defied Cloud's blade using only his fists; not a scratch on him. After tiring him out, Glade sent his dad to the far side of the room with one more powerful punch, knocking his blade from his grasp. He rushed to him as he hurried to retrieve his sword, and managed to outrace him; he grabbed Cloud by the neck of his shirt, pinning him hard against the wall and giving two final punches, one in the stomach, and the other in the face. After that, Cloud was out like a light... wouldn't move even an inch. That's how Glade saved my life. I was so scared... but he protected me when I wasn't strong enough to do anything." Tifa asked "Loz.... what happened to him though? Why couldn't he make it to the war's end?" I felt sadness sweep over me, and continued "Five years later, we were to set off on Mother's sacred day, Reunion Day. We weren't big and strong enough to participate on this special day before, as me and Yazoo were only 8 and Kadaj was only 5. Glade was 12, but we needed more time to get strong enough to truly fulfill this most special for Mother. When the time came, Mother appeared to us and taught us all about Reunion Day. This was a powerful day for us to sacrifice people in order to gather the needed energy for Mother's mission we were left with. So, the four of us got our motorbikes and set a course Shinra to begin our massive attack on the enemy. We were to take life after life, all for Mother's legacy; and without discrimination. Of course, Shinra authorities knew we were killing everyone and hastily prepared backup in an attempt to stop our rampage. The first few teams that tried to stop us were powerless; we killed them with ease. But things got hairy before long, and we found ourselves in a bad situation with Cloud and the rest of his rotten crew. Sadly, this heavily slowed down progress for us, and we wound up stuck trying to fight them off. There were just too many of them, Sister.... and only four of us. Even Brother Glade had a tough time with them. The fight went on for what seemed like forever... and Glade told the rest of us to run. I hesitated, but Yazoo pulled me with him and said there was no choice. If we pushed ourselves any further, we would've died trying to fulfill Mother's divine will... and Glade also knew this. I didn't want to leave him like that, but Yazoo told me there was no choice or we would all die anyway. So, we were forced to escape Shinra and retreat to our gang territory and home, the Forgotten City. I waited, waited and waited for my precious Brother to return to us.... but he never came back. Mother came to me in a dream, and showed me what happened after we got away... they killed him..." I was crying now; this was too painful to bear no matter how many times I remembered it. Tifa said "Oh, Loz... I'm so sorry about that.... I know the feeling of losing something you love, but I just don't know what to say..." She
paused in silence, then said "Is there anything I can do to help you feel better, Loz?" I shook my head but kept silent. Tifa continued "You want Glade back, don't you?" I glanced at her and nodded, then said "I loved him, Sister... I'd risk anything just to see him again, travel to the very edge of the cosmos with Mother, just to see my Brother for even half a second..." Tifa smiled and added "Then let's go, Loz! If he's that important to you, then he means just as much to me. We can figure this out together, I know we can!" My sobbing stopped, and I smiled at her and added "You're right, Tifa. Let's find a way to get him back!" After that, we had dinner together and raced outside to focus on finding a way to get Glade back.
To be continued....
(this section will focus on Loz as the speaker) I was driving my motorbike and heading back to Tifa's towards the end of the day. I wasn't speeding the way I always did when i travelled by myself, though; just going at a normal pace. Just when the war and the struggles seemed to finally be over, there was still too much going and an excess of unfinished work to focus on. I was so exhausted ever since Little Sister vanished, I haven't been feeling like myself at all. All of this craziness was simply too much for me. I arrived in town and parked outside Tifa's home, slowly getting off my motorbike. I went inside, and Tifa turned my way and said "Welcome home, Loz! Dinner is all set to go, so don't worry about going hungry from that hard work." I replied "Thanks, Sister. I'll enjoy calling it a day." Tifa flashed me a confused glance, and asked "Loz, are you ok? You're not looking or sounding too good..." I answered "I'm fine, but everything in JENOVA Kingdom has been so hectic since rescuing Father and making the peace settlement with SAKUI's kind... It's just too much to take in at once for me, Tifa..." I sat down at the kitchen table, and she sat across from me. She seemed worried about me. Tifa asked "Are you tired, Loz? You haven't come back wanting to play at all... something must've happened. Are you ok, big guy?" I knew everything, but I didn't want to talk about it. I just wanted everything to be back to normal so I could relax again. I knew she wouldn't say anything until I told her, though. I replied "It's a long story, but the day we were assigned to make preparations for Mother's wedding and Father's coronation, things came up, and..." I explained the story to Tifa as best I could. She listened in silence the entire time. After I finished, she said "Oh my goodness... that's terrible! Why didn't you tell me this before, Loz?" I began crying quietly but didn't respond. Tifa went on "Loz, if you told me about Sephieroth's death, I could've been there to help you and what was left of Mother's guard. I know you were too sad and desperate to think about anything but getting her a Reunion, but if you don't tell me what's going, Brother, I can't do anything to help..." I replied "You're right... I'm sorry... she's back now thanks to JENOVA Lifestream's current master, Aerith, but she's in a lot of pain from a powerful, forced Reunion. Mother called it the Ultimate Reunion... other than this, I don't know anything else." I shook my head and forced my tears aside. Tifa added "Oh you poor guy... you've been through a lot. Don't be sad though, ok? I'm sure she'll be ok. Brother Rufus of JENOVA Foundation really knows his stuff, so I know we can count on him to help her too." I nodded, then said "He does, you're right. I'm glad Mother has a skilled scientist like him in the family. Without him, who knows how JENOVA Kingdom would be doing right now? He works so hard to advance technology and create a better future for Mother's family... and he enjoys it, too!" Tifa smiled at me and giggled, then said "See? You know we can count on him to keep her from fading into Mother's lifestream again. He certainly knows what he's doing." We both laughed. I said "He does, you're right. I'm not surprised Mother put him in charge of research at the foundation. But, when I saw Little Sister in Mother's arms, she reverted back to her larva state, and she would barely move... when she talked, even though she smiled and even laughed a bit, she sounded so weak... I'm worried about her, Sister..." Tifa added "Is that why you came back sad? You're afraid she won't make it?" I nodded, and replied "Mother said she should be ok, but I'm still worried... if she doesn't survive, then Mother will be sad again.... I can't bear to see that..!" Tifa replied "You're very overwhelmed, Loz. I know you are. Nothing went the way it was planned, and then things got hairy all over again... I know why that's too much for you, especially since you, Yazoo, and Kadaj have been fighting this battle your entire lives. But I don't want to see you suffer like this, Loz. Is there anything I can do that would make you smile again?" Suddenly, my tears stopped completely, and I had a vision. I was in an endless white space, standing face to face with a man with long silver hair who had a brutal build like mine, his arms on my shoulders. He wore black leather clothing much like mine. I found myself looking at my closest childhood Brother: Glade. I cried "Big Brother Glade! It's been so many years... where are you?" Glade replied "It matters not where I am, but how you're doing, young Loz. That's all that matters to me, Little Brother." I began "Don't talk like that... you know I wanna be together again! That horrible day, on Yazoo's and my birthday... the day we were cornered by your dad Cloud and his crew of monsters, and you fought them all yourself just so the three of us could escape and live... You never came back home, to the Forgotten City, and in my dreams, Mother told me that they--they killed you...!" I leaned against him, crying heavily. Glade wrapped his arms around me and said "I know you were heartbroken, Loz... I'm sorry, I really am... please forgive me, Brother. I know we were the closest Brothers anyone could imagine. But that was why I told you and the rest of Mother's gang to run from that battle. I knew none of you could defeat my dad's team, and I wasn't even sure I could. My father by himself was one thing: I knew I had a chance there. His entire band was a different matter, though. But I risked my life anyway. Ever since Mother accepted me and granted me Purification, I swore an oath to protect you, Loz. This was why I told you to run and go home--even if it meant I would not make it back. I know it left you in sadness when you knew I was dead, Brother... but I did what I had to just to protect you." I said "Brother..! I was so scared... I thought we were done for that day..!" Glade brushed his hand through my hair, smiling and said "I know it wasn't easy, but look at how far you and Mother have come! You didn't die fighting, Loz; you survived! And that's all that is important to me, Little Brother. Don't let that ugly past ruin your life, Loz... go with Tifa, and find happiness together. All I ever wanted was to see you smile and laugh like you always did when you were with me. I know Tifa can be the same way for you, even if you aren't so sure. Let that mellow woman bring smiles and joy to your life, Loz... just like I did. Find happiness with her, and get the happy ending I wanted for you." My tears slowed, and I looked him in the eye. He was smiling at me the way he always did when he would try to cheer me up. I smiled back, and said "Big Brother... thank you." Glade playfully shoved me off and said "Now go, young Loz. Go play! And not by yourself--with her!" I laughed and ran elsewhere, and then the vision faded. I realized Tifa was shaking me, crying "Loz! Wake up!" I shook my head, looking around. I was still in her house. She stopped shaking me, and said "Don't do that to me! I thought you crashed!" Remembering where I was, I said "Sorry, Sister... It's just, I saw someone I really loved from my childhood in JENOVA SOLDIER just now, and he told me to forget about the family's ugly past, and..." Tifa questioned "Huh? Loz... who are you talking about?" I began "I'm not surprised you don't remember, but... when me and Yazoo were 13, and Little Sister Kadaj was 10, there was one member of JENOVA SOLDIER besides the three of us. His name was Glade. Formerly part of Cloud's family, he joined our gang when he was 12. Surprisingly, Mother granted him Purification within very little time... and on my behalf, nonetheless. Glade was my closest sibling after he received Mother's cells and got his silver hair and green eyes... in fact, I never left his side. Literally. I would follow him everywhere we went when we were kids... in fact, if not for my dear Brother's heroics, I probably wouldn't be here right now. Shortly after he joined our side of the Shinra war, both of us got up early one morning to play outside together. However, things went awry very quickly: we were ambushed, and woke up later to find each other tied up at Shinra Headquarters. Cloud Strife and Rufus Shinra stood before us both. I knew that if Cloud took one of Mother's children prisoner, he had intent to kill. I was very scared, Sister..." Tifa asked "Why did Cloud take you guys?" I answered "He did it to lure Yazoo and Kadaj to Shinra HQ. More than likely, this was a death trap for all of us. He knew they would respond with haste which is why he brought us there. He even left a message on Kadaj's phone telling them he had me at Shinra Headquarters. However, Glade broke his ropes before long, and stood up to his monster of a father... all to save me and divert Shinra's attention. Of course, Cloud tried to make him have second thoughts about helping Mother, but it was pointless. Glade remained true to Mother, even in front of his father. They ended up fighting each other after Glade sucker punched Rufus and knocked him out. To my surprise, Glade's physical strength rivalled even his dad's skilled swordfighting. He defied Cloud's blade using only his fists; not a scratch on him. After tiring him out, Glade sent his dad to the far side of the room with one more powerful punch, knocking his blade from his grasp. He rushed to him as he hurried to retrieve his sword, and managed to outrace him; he grabbed Cloud by the neck of his shirt, pinning him hard against the wall and giving two final punches, one in the stomach, and the other in the face. After that, Cloud was out like a light... wouldn't move even an inch. That's how Glade saved my life. I was so scared... but he protected me when I wasn't strong enough to do anything." Tifa asked "Loz.... what happened to him though? Why couldn't he make it to the war's end?" I felt sadness sweep over me, and continued "Five years later, we were to set off on Mother's sacred day, Reunion Day. We weren't big and strong enough to participate on this special day before, as me and Yazoo were only 8 and Kadaj was only 5. Glade was 12, but we needed more time to get strong enough to truly fulfill this most special for Mother. When the time came, Mother appeared to us and taught us all about Reunion Day. This was a powerful day for us to sacrifice people in order to gather the needed energy for Mother's mission we were left with. So, the four of us got our motorbikes and set a course Shinra to begin our massive attack on the enemy. We were to take life after life, all for Mother's legacy; and without discrimination. Of course, Shinra authorities knew we were killing everyone and hastily prepared backup in an attempt to stop our rampage. The first few teams that tried to stop us were powerless; we killed them with ease. But things got hairy before long, and we found ourselves in a bad situation with Cloud and the rest of his rotten crew. Sadly, this heavily slowed down progress for us, and we wound up stuck trying to fight them off. There were just too many of them, Sister.... and only four of us. Even Brother Glade had a tough time with them. The fight went on for what seemed like forever... and Glade told the rest of us to run. I hesitated, but Yazoo pulled me with him and said there was no choice. If we pushed ourselves any further, we would've died trying to fulfill Mother's divine will... and Glade also knew this. I didn't want to leave him like that, but Yazoo told me there was no choice or we would all die anyway. So, we were forced to escape Shinra and retreat to our gang territory and home, the Forgotten City. I waited, waited and waited for my precious Brother to return to us.... but he never came back. Mother came to me in a dream, and showed me what happened after we got away... they killed him..." I was crying now; this was too painful to bear no matter how many times I remembered it. Tifa said "Oh, Loz... I'm so sorry about that.... I know the feeling of losing something you love, but I just don't know what to say..." She
paused in silence, then said "Is there anything I can do to help you feel better, Loz?" I shook my head but kept silent. Tifa continued "You want Glade back, don't you?" I glanced at her and nodded, then said "I loved him, Sister... I'd risk anything just to see him again, travel to the very edge of the cosmos with Mother, just to see my Brother for even half a second..." Tifa smiled and added "Then let's go, Loz! If he's that important to you, then he means just as much to me. We can figure this out together, I know we can!" My sobbing stopped, and I smiled at her and added "You're right, Tifa. Let's find a way to get him back!" After that, we had dinner together and raced outside to focus on finding a way to get Glade back.
To be continued....
