This is a bad one.
Leon raced at and through small mobs of Heartless, his gunblade moving in all too familiar rhythms. After three years of enduring the waves of Heartless that swept through Traverse Town's dark streets every time a new World Fell, he had more of a feel for them than any sane man wanted. This one was going to be bad.
Must have been a pretty big World. "Yuffie!"
"Leon!" The little ninja girl cast him a look of utter relief, before hurling her oversized shuriken at the Heartless heading her way.
He wanted to yell at her. To stop and shake sense into her. She was a civilian, no matter what stories Aeris had told her; she shouldn't be out here in the dark with the monsters...
But huddled behind her were a couple of littles barely half her age, hanging onto a puppy almost as big as they were.
Damn it. Leon fell in beside her, slashing out fast enough to give them both breathing room. "Call Cid and Aeris. Find out which of them is closer. Then go."
"But Leon-"
"I'm not asking, Kisaragi!"
She didn't argue. Good. Because Darkness fluxed again, and they were busy.
Lot of little upwellings. I was expecting a big one-
It fountained up almost under their feet; a wave of Shadows, Neo-shadows, and something silvery and big, with the pale face of a human bobbing in the Darkness under it all.
Shiva's frost. A survivor. Right in the middle of - I'm not going to get to him in time-!
The largest Heartless snarled, lion and dragon and something Darker all mixed in the sound. Silver-purple fur flowed, claws and fangs slashing and snapping other Heartless away from the groaning survivor.
Huh?
But he wasn't about to look a gift chocobo in the beak. The cat-demon's unexpected assault had pushed the mob back. He could work with that.
The next few minutes were a blur of frantic familiarity. Heartless swarmed like angry bees, and he swatted them. Please let Yuffie keep the kids okay...
"Yeep!"
Okay, that was something to worry about. But it was a surprised yeep, not a scared one. And he had just a few more left to kill...
Over. For now. Leon stared through empty streets, and shook himself. There'd be another wave soon, he could taste it. Time to get the kids out of here. And what was yeep all about-?
Oh. Yeep.
Yuffie was behind the cat-demon Heartless with the kids, torn cloth at her shoulder showing where sharp teeth had grabbed and snatched her out of the fray. The green-uniformed survivor was a few feet away, on the other side of the littles, heavy wrench in hand and streetlights gleaming off his glasses as he whipped his head about looking for more enemies. Definitely not looking at the massive, red-eyed monster beside them.
Mid to late thirties, looks military but not front-line, Leon judged. Doesn't think that Heartless is a threat, why- whoa.
He hadn't seen it in the fray, but the cat-demon wasn't alone.
Neo-shadow. I think. Only a little small... and I've never seen one with handcuffs before. A Gargoyle - on the ground? They're not bright, but they know they fight better in the air. And...
At first, he wasn't sure it was a Heartless at all, and not some odd spell effect. But something like dark St. Elmo's fire flickered over the cat-demon's mane, climbing up to the horns before sheeting back down to the furred back. It dipped one direction, then the other, then back.
It's keeping a lookout.
They're intelligent.
A bit of a leap. And maybe they weren't any smarter than, say, a pack of yeth hounds. Which would still be scary, compared to most Heartless-
Red eyes fixed on him. On his gunblade. On the littles.
Damn. Going to have to move-
Deliberately, the creature sat down.
Leon realized his mouth was open. Closed it, before Yuffie could notice. "Okay," he breathed. "Yuffie? You all right?"
The ninja was rubbing her shoulder, as if she still couldn't believe she'd only lost a shirt instead of skin. "Leon don't hurt him it was going to stab me and I couldn't kill it quick enough and he grabbed me right out of the way and Heartless don't do that-!"
"Breathe," the army guy advised her. "Um... don't shoot Vincent, he's scary but he's one of the good guys... where are we? This - it can't be Earth..."
Great. The shock was setting in. "I'm Leon. That's Yuffie. Ask the kids who they are later. You are?"
"Sergeant Sylvester Siler," the wrench-guy stammered. "Stargate Command... where are we?"
"Traverse Town," Leon stated. Stargate Command? Space travel. That can get ugly. "And you're not safe yet."
"Safe?" Siler almost laughed. "The world just fell apart. Where's safe?" He was looking at streets and buildings and ruins, face going paler in a way Leon had seen all too many times. The bits and pieces Traverse Town had been cobbled together from looked like what they were; pieces of wildly different worlds, and nothing like home. "This is supposed to be Daniel's job..."
With the kind of wobble to his voice that meant whoever Daniel was, he hadn't survived. Leon winced. "Come on, let's get you-"
The cat-demon shuddered. Vanished, into a swirl of blue-black and lightning-
A naked man slumped to the ground.
"Yeek!"
"Yuffie, kids, don't look," Leon ordered, shrugging off his jacket. He could taste the magic lingering in the air, spilling off pale skin and the three remaining Heartless clinging close to the unconscious man. Dark, no doubt about it. But... a clean Dark, somehow. Night wind, and stars, and smoke from a welcoming fire.
Aeris says Dark isn't always evil. I hope she's right. "Vincent? Let me put this on you, okay?"
No response. He draped the man for modesty anyway, keeping a wary eye on the three Heartless. They were watching him. And they were definitely not happy.
Not attacking, though. That's interesting.
"It could take him a while to wake up," Siler offered. "He's always tired after he shifts. And this time - it was bad. After Lea went down, and then the others..." Words died in his throat as he stared at the little Heartless-fire. And shuddered.
Leon eyed the creature, which was now outlining the wings on the back of his jacket and giving him a balefire glare. "Lea?"
Siler's jaw worked. He swallowed, and shook his head. "I - that can't be-"
Slender fingers touched Siler's arm before he could yield to hysteria. "You need to sit down, and have some hot soup," Aeris said firmly. "I'll take care of your friends. Yuffie? Get everyone to the church. Leon and I will be right behind you."
"Right!"
"Church," Siler was muttering as Yuffie dragged him off. "Yeah. I should go more often..."
"Be careful," Leon said quietly, as Aeris approached the odd foursome. "They're not acting like normal Heartless."
"No, they aren't, are they?" Aeris held out her hand, palm up. "I'm Aeris. I want to help your friend."
"Vincent," Leon told her. "Siler said his name was Vincent."
For a moment, Aeris seemed to go perfectly still. "Vincent."
Leon didn't know how she did it, but he could hear the man in the name. Tall, lean; black hair flowing in the wind as he lined up shot after shot...
The cuff-bearing Shadow crept nearer. Reached up, and rested black talons in Aeris' hand.
Leon tried not to hold his breath.
"That's right." Aeris' voice was soft as chickobo down. "Take me to Vincent."
Yellow eyes blinked at her. Carefully, the Shadow tugged, and let Aeris follow. The Gargoyle shifted her wings, making room for Aeris to kneel by the unconscious man. Even the fire pulled back... but just a little.
The healer murmured a soft prayer, hands glowing pale green with magic that sank into skin like gentle rain. Color faded back into a pale face-
Red eyes snapped open, and the man sat up in almost indecent haste. "Captain!"
Another military guy, Leon deduced, as the Shadow clumsily patted Vincent's arm. I wonder what went wrong on your world. "Siler said your name is Vincent?"
"Sergeant Vincent Valentine. SG-6." Red eyes looked at the Heartless first; flinched, in visible grief. Only then did he seem to take in how he wasn't dressed. "You... saw."
Damn, he wants to run, Leon realized. He wants to run from us? Why? He was a Heartless. And we didn't pull out the heavy magic, and any Heartless that saw what we did use ought to think we're not that tough-
He was a Heartless. I don't know how in Ramuh's name he managed to come back from that, but he did. What are the odds not everyone listened when his friend said don't shoot?
"Don't shoot." Oh. Wonderful. They tried to use guns.
And Siler had left his fellow survivor out cold in the street. His fellow military survivor.
...Vincent's not scared because we're a threat. He's scared because people are a threat.
Thank the gods for Aeris.
"You're a shape-shifter!" Aeris beamed, as if someone had given her a new lamp for her flowers. "It's all right. Magic isn't hidden in this world."
Leon suppressed the urge to groan and rub his scar. Aeris could do that, sometimes; pull bits of a new refugee's past out of the tiny World-fragments that'd ridden the Dark along with them.
A shape-shifter from a world where magic had to hide, who'd been in the military? Leon tried not to grimace. This? Is not good.
Leon had been a mercenary, not regular forces - but still. He knew about the life. Shape-shifters needed space. And that was exactly what you didn't get. Close quarters, living in your teammate's pockets; any secrets you had might stay in the unit, but you'd never keep them to yourself.
And I thought I had issues.
"Are these your friends?" Aeris went blithely on.
Vincent pulled the jacket a little closer around himself. "They were."
Leon winced. Bad enough to be fighting Heartless from who-knew-where. People you knew? Ow.
"They still are," Aeris said firmly. "Leon? I need you as the Commander for a minute."
She didn't ask for that often. "What are we doing?"
"You're going to stand in for Twilight Town." Putting her right hand under Vincent's, Aeris beckoned to the little Shadow.
Carefully, dark talons rested on top of pale fingers.
Magic. Leon waited for the Gargoyle to add her claws, and the little fire to stretch a lick of flame into the knot of flesh and energy. Put his hand on top, and let Aeris cover it with her left. I hope you know what we're doing.
"Vincent's part of your Hearts, and you wouldn't leave him." Aeris' words seemed to ring through the dark, gathering light and shadows. "We're going to help him, and we want to help you. People in Twilight Town help each other. You're not whole, but you're still Vincent's Team. Stay with us."
It didn't have the bang and flash of combat magic. But Leon felt something shift in the air, like a spring wind blowing.
"There." Aeris let go. "If you trust us, they'll trust us."
Vincent studied her, that odd crimson gaze smoldering. Glanced at Leon. "Commander?"
Definitely military. And not a regular soldier. If I don't give him something to do, he'll find something. "Right now, the best thing you can do for all of us is go with Aeris and let her brief you," Leon said bluntly. "You need clothes, weapons, and information. And you need to tell Siler you're all right." He drew in a breath, feeling the air go quiet.
The calm before the storm.
The way Vincent eyed the shadows, he might feel it too. He glanced at Leon again, and inclined his head. "Sir."
Interesting, Leon thought, as Aeris led the little menagerie away. If we live through this wave, I want to talk to him.
A few minutes more, and the wave of Darkness surged again, shifting the patterns of where Heartless were, and weren't. And again...
By about the fourth surge-and-shift, Leon was starting to get worried. And tired. Pieces of Traverse Town had simply crumbled under refugees' feet. Aeris' church was still stable, and Merlin's hut, but at least one clocktower and ancient mansion that had stood through the past two years were now so much scattered dust and splintering boards. Who knew if they'd ever be livable again. Must have been one heck of a World-
And it had some very nasty flying Heartless.
Wonderful. Leon dodged over tile and thatched rooftops inches ahead of a burning red beam, playing bait as Cid jumped into position to spear it through a flashing yellow lighted top vent. But for every one they'd taken out this way, there seemed to be a half-dozen more swooping in. I hate flyers. If only we had a way to hit them from a distance-
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Three disc-shaped Heartless suddenly spun out of the swarm; one disintegrating into black shreds of shadow, the other two spitting sparks.
That was a gun.
Leon had heard them now and again over the past few years. Usually just one shot, and then screaming. Sometimes two. Three, all of which had done actual damage-
More shots. Moving closer.
Pulling g's no human could survive without magic, the few remaining discs screamed back through a Dark hole in the sky.
Quiet. Leon traded a glance with Cid, listening to the wind moaning through settling debris as they got their breath back.
"Huh." Cid lit a cigar; drew in a breath of smoke. "That was interesting." Settling the Venus Gospel over his shoulder, the engineer waggled thick brows. "So who gets to check it out?"
Leon smirked.
"Sure. Hog all the fun." Cid flipped his PHS open. "Hey, Aeris! Looks quiet for now..."
A few more jumps took Leon down to street level. He checked direction against the stars-
One less star up there. Gods.
Sighed, and headed west.
Wrapped in dark leather and a tattered red wool cloak, Vincent was waiting. "Commander."
"Leon is fine." Leon accepted his jacket back, giving the new fighter a frank look over. Better. A lot better. Red eyes were still hurt, still lost - but they were focused. Here and now.
Thank you, Aeris.
Leon let his look over the three Heartless be just as obvious. The Gargoyle was clinging to the edge of a roof over Vincent's head. The Shadow was peering around one corner. And the balefire was riding Vincent's shoulder, flames flickering this way and that.
Sweet Shiva. No wonder nothing came after him. They're backing him up.
And each one had red-and-pink ribbons knotted on them; on the Shadow's antennae, on the Gargoyle's horns, and one - with what looked like a bit of materia - wafting in black flames. "Aeris?" Leon almost smiled.
"Yes." And that was a faint smile, as Vincent plucked a ribbon-end from gnawing licks of fire. "Don't eat that."
It's not burning him, Leon thought. Glanced at a few stray scorch marks around the fighter's position. But it can definitely burn. Interesting. "I thought I heard... oh."
Damn. It'd been a long, long time since he'd seen someone wearing a leg holster.
"My compliments to your weaponsmiths." Vincent offered him the tri-barreled revolver butt-first. "The design isn't one I'm familiar with. But it is effective."
"Looks like," Leon murmured. A good, solid piece of work, with a minimum of the ornamentation Moogles often loved. Just swirls of silver chasing, a stylized Cerberus pendant dangling from a chain, and-
Materia slots. This gun's meant to be equipped. "Do you use materia on your world?"
Vincent frowned. "What?"
That'd be a no. "It's an energy source," Leon summed up. "Did the Moogles mention it?" Ack. Think, Leon. He's only been here what, a few hours?
"I honestly had no idea what they were saying," Vincent admitted. "Aeris advised me to smile and nod. That I could thank them later, after the world had... caught up with me, is how she phrased it." Crimson eyes burned at Leon. "The way she said it - living here has effects?"
Aeris asked for the slots. She had to have. Meaning she thinks Vincent can pick up Nibelheim magic-use. Huh. "Beneficial, mostly," Leon informed him. "Traverse Town is a Multiversal place. Understanding what other humans are saying is easy. Understanding other species takes a little longer." And there were other effects... but if Siler and Vincent evacuated to another world, they wouldn't need to worry. Those could wait.
Or maybe not. Aeris gave Vincent a slotted gun. She thinks he's going to stay.
"Multiversal?"
And that was a very fast pounce on a word a lot of refugees missed. Tactical thinker. Good. "Siler implied you had space travel. So you know there are other life-supporting planets."
"...Yes."
Leon tried not to look too interested. Siler left something out, then. "Long story short, there's more than one universe. A lot more. Places like Traverse Town... a lot of universes connect, here. When one of them collapses, we tend to get the survivors." Pause. Give him a breath. "We also get a lot of the Heartless. Sorry. You've landed in another war zone."
Vincent's gaze was distant. "A war zone... with survivors."
"Everyone here made it through their World Falling," Leon agreed. "We still lose people. But we lose a lot less."
"Hmm."
Which was the sound of someone fairly mentally tough, who'd finally hit I'm going to think about this later.
"Organized defenses, and you know what's going on," Vincent observed. "I would call this an improvement."
Tough, and he has a sense of humor. Nice. "Merlin can explain it better than I can," Leon stated, offering the gun. "Trust me, he'd love to."
"I'll ask." Vincent accepted his weapon back, dark bangs casting his gaze into shadow. "So you would say I am human."
"Yes," Leon said bluntly. Think I just found touchy issue one. Great. "Normal? Probably not. Most people who survive to get here aren't normal anymore. But human, yes." He gave the gunman a level look. "If that was a problem on your world... we still get some idiots here. But most of our people have had some sense beaten into them. Anyone who helps stand up against the Heartless, is one of ours."
Vincent fixed him with a burning gaze. "My team."
"They stay." Leon held his gaze, just as steady. "You might want to keep them away from the littles unless Aeris is there. Kids will be scared. Outside of that, use your own judgment."
"I should have done that weeks ago." Vincent looked away. "I couldn't save them."
Pain. Leon could hear it in quiet words. Feel it, aching in his own dark memories. "We've all lost a lot of people." Rinoa. "They're bound to you." And you to them, if Aeris is right. "That's more than most people save. If a Keybearer can fix things, if your World comes back... they should come back, too."
Crimson flashed at him. "Comes back?"
Leon waved down the street, roughly toward the church. "Come on. We've got a lot to talk about."
Almost reluctantly, Vincent followed; Gargoyle taking off and Shadow whispering in his wake. "Will it include why Miss Gainsborough said not to bother with camouflage?"
Ooo. Somebody's sense of proper tactics was offended. "It will," Leon smiled. "We don't have standard units here. You have to know who's fighting with you, so you know what weapons and tactics to account for. Heartless don't hunt by sight. They hunt by feeling Hearts. You could be wearing bright pink polka dots, and they wouldn't find you any faster-"
The balefire flowed down to Vincent's hand, crackling frantically.
There's another wave-
Mechanical falcon-shaped flyers. Hulking scaled ogre-like brutes. Swarms and swarms of Shadows.
But it was the small, snake-like Heartless the Gargoyle hissed and dove for, the rest of Vincent's Team spreading out around the humans so no writhing shapes got within yards of them. "Parasites!" Vincent bit out, sniping one in midair. "They possess humans!"
Parasitic Heartless. Leon's blood ran cold. Your World didn't stand a chance, did it?
A massive shadow fell over them. Cursing, Leon looked up.
It's a pyramid. A flying, spaceship-pyramid.
Not a big one, as pyramids went. But big enough to squash the town square and every building around it if it came down. The top of it was opening, a Dark portal spilling out even more Heartless.
That? Is just not fair.
But it wasn't hopeless. Not with Vincent giving him cover fire, and the Team snarling after fliers and the parasites, leaving Leon free to concentrate on the closer brutes. He had an idea for the pyramid, he just needed a few seconds to think-
A massive fist got through, and he was flying.
Nothing that big should be that fast.
But Leon was smirking even as he hit the ground, struggling back to his feet as the golden glow started to build around him. Bye-bye pyramid.
Power gathering, he leaped skyward.
Not possible, Vincent thought, diving clear of the static-prickle of gathering magic. No one has that much power!
And no one could move like that, half-hanging in air as if gravity had no meaning, a golden and black-fire blur of a blade streaking blue after-images through the night, tearing through the Unas-Heartless in front of Leon easily as Galian tore apart steel.
Leon landed. Raised his blue-lit blade skyward, a whirlwind of golden power swirling around him-
Time to go.
Snatching a red-ribboned Shadow, Vincent ran for the closest street leading into the square. Above, the Gargoyle was beating her wings in a frantic bid for more speed, just as aware as he was that glowing equaled you don't want to be here.
Lea! Vincent grabbed the wall to corner, felt brick crumble under his fingers as he twisted to look back. Where's-?
Golden light shot up from the tip of Leon's blade, piercing clouds, death gliders, and one very unhappy ha'tak.
Eyes alight, Leon brought blade and beam down-
The ha'tak exploded.
Vincent dodged back behind the corner, registering an odd emptiness to the boom. Not rending metal and crystal ores, as it should have been. More a sound of shredding cloth, and chiming glass, and a whisper of shadows...
Quiet. Vincent peered back around the corner, firearm ready.
No more Heartless. No shards of wreckage. Only Leon, panting and bloody in the square, with a black fire creeping down the edge of his blade to swing up onto his shoulder.
"You tried to help." Leon patted the flames. "Thanks. I had it, though. Stick with Vincent next time."
Catching his breath, Vincent headed back toward the Commander. "What was that?"
"Renzokuken."
Continual Sword. Vincent shook his head. "The name tells me very little. What was that? And how did you do it? I've never seen anyone gather half that much magic."
Bloody and exhausted as he obviously was, Leon still gave Vincent a searching look, followed by a slight, wry smile. "Magic had to hide on your world. You wouldn't have had a chance to develop advanced techniques." The smile slipped into a smirk. "It'd be like trying to build a spaceship in your backyard. Without getting caught."
"You should have met Major Carter." Vincent moved in to support the wounded man, mentally testing the implications of Leon's statement. "You see magic as a science." If it is, if it's something you can explain - can you tell me what's happened to me? What's happened to us?
Explain, possibly. Cure? Unlikely. Or there wouldn't be so many Heartless attacking Traverse Town.
My team brought me back.
A miracle. He couldn't dare hope for another. No matter how much he wished to.
"There's still a lot of art to it," Leon said, leaning on him without making a fuss. Experienced, then; well past a young soldier's impulse to bluff out pain. "But there's art in airship design, too. You should see a Garden..." He shook his head, as if to chase away a memory. "Aeris and Merlin handle most of the basic instruction here. I bet the first thing Aeris will teach you is Cure-"
Pages rustled overhead as the Gargoyle hovered in midair, an almost familiar grimoire in her claws. Nodded, and waved one set of talons through a graceful flow of motions Vincent almost understood...
Sign. She can't speak. She's signing the spell.
A last flourish, and a soft golden glow left her hand to settle over Leon, healing gashes to shallow cuts, and fading scratches almost completely. Talons clapped the book together, and it vanished.
Leon leaned on him a little less, dark brows lifting in surprise. "Not bad. Not a full Cure, but not bad."
"Angela was a sorceress on my world," Vincent said quietly, as they started walking again. "Over the last few months... she had a great deal of practice."
"Months?" Leon almost halted in his tracks, giving Vincent a measuring look. "You've been holding off the Heartless for months?"
"Only three, I think," Vincent admitted. "Why?"
"Most Worlds Fall in a few days." Leon whistled softly. "Your people are tough."
Months was a long time to survive? "How long have you been here?" Vincent asked, more sharply than he'd intended.
"At least three years." Leon didn't look offended. "Like you said, we know what we're dealing with. Most Worlds haven't got a clue."
And without that knowledge, the most trained soldiers don't stand a chance, Vincent finished silently, glancing down the street. There was a light approaching. One that looked almost familiar.
Aeris, the crescent moon on her staff glowing softly. Looking very stern, indeed. "Are you alright? We saw you use Blasting Zone!"
"Heartless," Leon said simply. "Spaceship-sized Heartless."
"In atmosphere?" Running a green glow over the rest of Leon's wounds, Aeris looked taken aback.
"I thought you said that was Renzokuken," Vincent observed.
Leon shrugged. "It is."
"Leon! He doesn't know about Limits yet." Shaking her head, Aeris turned impish green eyes on Vincent. "Blasting Zone is one of Leon's Renzokuken." She gestured down the street. "Come on. That should be the last wave for a while, and we'll all feel better at Merlin's."
Merlin?
It's Vincent! Walking them home through dark streets, Aeris wanted to fling her arms out and twirl around from sheer happiness. It's really, really him! Oh, I've been waiting forever.
Well, not forever. As far as Radiant Garden and Traverse Town were concerned, it'd only been about five years. Though apparently time had gone a bit funny when she and Chaos had tossed souls across the Multiverse; Yuffie and Cid had been reborn years before Aeris herself had dropped in on Radiant Garden.
Oh, that was still a horrible memory, even now. She'd been with Zack in the Lifestream, watching over Cloud as he fought the geostigma and the Remnants and Sephiroth again, why couldn't Jenova give up and let go-
And then Cloud had been shot, and somehow Darkness had used that as a way in, and the Heartless had headed for her World's Keyhole as if they knew exactly where it was.
Hojo. It felt like him. We all thought he died in the tower, but somehow... oh, that nasty, soulless little man!
Whoever it had been, however it had happened... she, Zack, Chaos and Vincent had had no time. All they could do was reach out from the Lifestream, for all those closest to them-
Friends. Enemies. Every Heart we could sense.
-Gather their Hearts with a wish and a prayer, and throw.
So many souls to save. So many lives they couldn't save. She'd worn herself thin in the flow of energies, fighting to save one more, just one more, until finally Zack's hands closed around her own-
"Love you, babe. Time to go."
She'd woken up on the steps of her church, in one of Ansem the Wise's flower gardens, alive and confused and alone.
Though... not quite alone. Chaos was caught in exhausted slumber under the church's foundations. And there had been a young man crumpled at her feet, gunblade clutched in gloved hands as he cried out for Rinoa.
Aeris didn't know what it was with the Multiverse and throwing heartbroken swordsmen at her, but she wasn't complaining. Under the stoic ice of Shiva's power, Leon was a good man. And a good friend.
You'll find her, and I'll find Zack. We will. Someday.
Someday was just taking its own sweet time, that was all.
But never mind, Vincent was here now. And Leon - dear, stubborn Leon - would finally get enough help to rest.
Just as soon as Vincent gets a little rest, Aeris thought. To lose yet another World... he had to be hurting.
We'll just have to fix that. Aeris opened the door of Merlin's hut, and grinned.
And Leon really was a nice person, no matter how much he tried to fool people, because he tried to warn Vincent. "It looks a little odd in there..."
"Everything here looks odd." Determined, Vincent stalked in. And stopped, just a few feet inside the threshold.
"Say it!" Aeris giggled. "You know you want to."
"...Someone stole a TARDIS while it wasn't looking?"
Er. She hadn't expected that.
"Ha-hah!" Merlin chuckled as they all came in and closed the door, now firmly inside a room distinctly larger than the hut was outside. "So you have stories of Gallifreyans on your World? Well-meaning chaps, most of them. Though you do run across the odd take over the universe sort from time to time... there's always one, isn't there?" Standing by one of his tamer chairs, the wizard patted Siler on the shoulder. "There now, you see? Safe and sound. If Miss Gainsborough says someone's fit to fight, they usually are."
Seated as if he were having second thoughts about touching the cushions, white knuckles gripping his wrench, Siler glanced up at Vincent. And almost flinched away again, at the sight of shadows with yellow eyes. "This place doesn't make sense."
Vincent lifted a brow. "Which part?"
Which was obviously one of her old friend's dry jokes, so Aeris grinned at Siler-
Who was sputtering. And not in a happy way, even though the grumbles of "Dr. Who?!" sounded a lot less stressed than the man she'd led out of the dark for a bowl of soup. But when his gaze passed near the Team-
To him, they're just Heartless, Aeris thought. Oh no. How can one of Vincent's friends think that?
But he didn't feel like Vincent's friend, she realized. Their Hearts didn't touch. Not even as closely as Vincent's touched hers.
Not his friend. Just... someone he knows.
Vincent had saved a fellow soldier, and failed to save his friends. Oh, no.
Find the quiet inside, Aeris told herself. He's hurt. At least you know where to start healing.
"Just think of it as more off-planet weirdness," Vincent suggested.
"Easy for you, I was never supposed to go through the 'Gate," Siler muttered. "And I don't care if magic is real, I'm an engineer-"
The front door thumped open again. "Somebody taking my job in vain?" Cid grumped, chomping on a toothpick. "Leon? We got trouble with the electrics on the north side. Looks like some of the new fragments that crashed in sheared through a main conduit like that." He slapped hands across each other.
Leon's grimace was as eloquent as one of Cid's cigar-punctuated tirades. "Do what you can. The waves are over for now, a little darkness won't kill people."
"Always better to handle spitting sparks in the daylight," Siler agreed.
Everyone local looked at him. Aeris sighed.
Vincent gazed back at them, and nodded to himself. "There is no daylight?"
Siler went a little paler. "But - we're on a planet."
"Not exactly," Cid said, with a gruff compassion newcomers never expected from him. "More like a bunch of asteroids cobbled together with gravity and atmosphere. We've got sunlamps for Aeris' gardens, and we scavenge a lot from other fragments that swing by. We get by. You ever been EVA?"
"Not yet." Some of the color came back to Siler's face. "You can get into orbit?"
"Can I get into orbit. Oh, just you wait." Cid looked enormously pleased with himself. "See, Leon? That's the way people should think about space."
Leon glanced toward the ceiling, and lifted his shoulders. "Sorry. Bad memories."
"You can get into orbit," Siler repeated, half to himself. "Well. If we're going to be here a while..." He spread his hands. "Maybe you could show me one of your circuit diagrams?"
"Right this way." Cid jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, and led the determined sergeant out. "I try to keep things simple, with slack in the cables wherever we can get away with it..."
Vincent waited until the door was closed to give the rest of them a considering look. "There is something you don't want Siler to hear."
"It's more important for you to know it first. You said you'd been fighting the Heartless for months." Leon crossed his arms. "Defensively, or offensively?"
Vincent arched an eyebrow.
"What Leon means to say is," Merlin clarified, tapping his glasses, "do you merely defend yourself and your allies when the Heartless arrive? Or do you go out looking for them first?"
Crimson narrowed. Met Leon's blue, stare for stare. "You can't win a defensive war."
"Then you are at risk, much more so than your Sergeant Siler," Merlin said firmly. "The Heartless are Multiversal creatures. Fighting them has a cost." He waved a hand. "Most of those in this room have already paid it."
"And part of you is a Heartless," Aeris put in. And how did that happen to Galian, anyway? "You already have the Multiverse's attention." I don't want to tell him. I want him to stay.
But that had to be Vincent's decision. No matter how lonely she was.
"You can't fight the Heartless with just physical weapons," Leon said plainly. "You've been shooting them; you have to know that. They're made from Hearts, and the only way to take them down is to use part of your own. Do that long enough, in a Multiversal place like Traverse Town... the Multiverse gives you back more than you lost. That has - consequences."
"We call it Keying," Merlin picked up the thread of the story. "There's a very long, technical explanation, which I prefer to reserve for nights we're all stricken with incurable insomnia. In essence, the energy of the Multiverse is vastly different from that of any one World. Take enough of it into your system that your Heart becomes used to it... well. You won't be able to go home again, even if your World reforms."
"We can evacuate the two of you to another World," Leon offered. "We try to do that with most refugees, when we can find somewhere safe. The Castle's a safe World, even if it is Multiversal, and Queen Minnie has spells to let people fit in on some of their linked Worlds without being noticed." He hesitated. "But most of those worlds aren't very technological. There's Navigator, and the Lost Empire; you might try one of those. But... I don't think they have shape-shifters."
The sniper looked down. Let the Shadow lean against him, obviously comforted by his presence. "What would be best for my Team?"
Leon started. Merlin peered over his glasses at the four of them, and raised a bushy white brow. "Oh dear. I don't think the question's ever come up before."
"Bringing Heartless to a world not equipped to deal with them would be an unacceptable risk," Vincent said quietly. "We'll stay." He glanced at Leon. "You should offer Siler the chance to leave. I was on one of the Stargate teams. I've visited many planets. Siler was one of our base engineers. He never intended to leave Earth."
"Stargate?" Aeris asked. It sounded interesting. And oddly familiar.
"A device discovered on my world some years ago, that had been buried for thousands of years," Vincent answered. "Apparently, they were built by a race that has disappeared, that we know only as the Ancients."
Stunned, Aeris reached for the fading sense of World around Vincent again. Ancients. Cetra?
Yes/kin/near-kin, the Multiverse murmured back. No more loneliness. Listen.
Aeris closed her eyes, listening to the pulse of magic. There was Traverse Town, a zydeco rush of melody-bits, held together by her bright hum and the steady wave-rush of Chaos. There was Merlin, a low, hidden rumble that could shake mountains apart. There was Leon, the singing of a gunblade through air softened by the counterpoint of piano and angelic choir that was Rinoa, all bound by a lion's purr. And Vincent...
Not as loud as any of Traverse Town's defenders. Not nearly as complex. And the wave-crash that was Chaos was missing. But even so, Vincent was the heartbeat of a great drum, carrying three fainter melodies when they faltered.
Merlin moves through Worlds wherever he likes. Leon and I are Keyed. Vincent - he's not. Not yet.
But he felt like kin. He felt like home.
"Earth doesn't - didn't - have much in the way of space travel," Vincent went on. "We can reach low Earth orbit, and we've sent missions to the Moon. But through the Stargate, we can travel to thousands of other worlds... planets, if you call a universe a World. We've been searching for help and allies. To make a long story very short - the first time Dr. Daniel Jackson and Colonel O'Neill went through the 'Gate, they encountered the Goa'uld; a parasitic alien race that had once ruled over Earth, and still ruled over humans across hundreds of planets. On Earth, our ancestors had rebelled, and sealed the 'Gate. Given it took years to cross interstellar distances, the Goa'uld decided to deny Earth had ever existed, and simply forget anyone had dared challenge their power. When Jackson and O'Neill killed Ra to free Abydos... they were reminded." A dark shrug. "Unfortunately, technology does advance. As of about a year ago, they can easily reach Earth."
A year ago. Leon frowned. "So that's not what pushed your World to Fall."
"No." Crimson glanced away. "For this... I need to sit down."
As the echoes of Vincent's story died into silence, Leon eyed the black flame huddled in the sniper's lap. Tried to save a soul, and ended up destroying the world. Damn.
In a way, the most awful part of Vincent's story was how long their World had survived. Most Worlds were swamped by the Heartless in an overwhelming wave; a tsunami of Darkness, sweeping everything away in a few nights of horror. Survivors were always shocked, but most of them were able to move on.
The Stargate had held out long enough for people to turn on each other. For Heroes to turn on each other. And from what Vincent hadn't said, his Team had been right in the Heroes' crosshairs.
Their World's Heroes turned on the backup Heroes. Great. Just great.
Vincent probably didn't realize his team were Heroes. But if Lea had been able to steal a Keychain in the first place, without another Hero noticing... According to Merlin, Keychains just didn't let that happen. A Keychain that left a Hero's hands should have been yelling at the universe for someone to come find it.
Aeris sighed, breaking the uneasy quiet. "You four need a lot more than just soup."
Vincent glanced at her from under his bangs. "Miss Gainsborough-"
"Aeris," she said firmly. "Sometimes things go wrong, no matter how hard we try." She cocked her head at the Heartless, one brow arched in interest. "What should we call them?"
Vincent ducked his head into his collar. "They have names."
"Human names," Aeris agreed. "But part of what makes them human is missing right now. Galian has his own name, and that helps you deal with him better, doesn't it? Maybe their Heartless would be helped by new names, too."
Not to mention, it might help you, Leon thought. He caught Merlin's frown, and gave him a quiet nod. Aeris' grasp of magic was more intuitive than a wizard's, but they both knew their healer usually knew what she was doing.
"I'll... consider it," Vincent said at last. "For now, where should we go?"
Mischief glinted under Merlin's bushy eyebrows. "Nowhere, for the moment," he chuckled. "I believe someone wishes to thank you."
Leon shot the old wizard a look. Merlin only smiled, and waved his wand at the door. "In with you, now, don't dawdle."
Heavy wood swung away from Yuffie's fist, still raised to knock; she shook it at Merlin instead. "No fair! How am I supposed to be a ninja if you always know it's me?"
"As one Master Splinter might say, practice harder." The wizard tilted his head, the tip of his pointed hat tilting as he peered behind the girl. "Well, now. You did want to meet him properly, didn't you?"
Crimson widened, alarmed. But Aeris was right there, a gentle hand resting on his leather glove. "It'll be all right. You'll see."
Wary, two girls and a massive puppy peered out from behind Yuffie. Leon had to hide a chuckle, seeing the youngsters' own magic at work. It might not look like much, but it'd saved the Scooby Gang time and again. Give them anything to hide behind, even a lamppost, and they were as invisible as the ninja Yuffie wanted to be. It even worked against Heartless. Most of the time. "Daphne. Velma. Scooby. Good to see you."
"Hi," Daphne managed. Velma was silent, wide-eyed behind her glasses.
"I saw you," Vincent said, barely above a whisper. "I'm glad you're alright."
"Alright?" Yuffie planted fists on her skinny hips in disbelief. "You owe me a new shirt, mister! I liked that shirt. It was comfy... um, stealthy! Really good for hiding. Who do you think you are, grabbing a ninja out of a fight and tearing up her sneaking clothes, huh?"
Leon watched her hands shake, and mentally applauded her bluff. Never let the Heartless know you were afraid.
One dark brow went up. "Vincent Valentine."
No Sergeant, Leon realized, trying not to straighten too obviously. He could feel Aeris' hidden smile. He's stepping away from his own chain of command. I know it doesn't exist anymore, but - why?
"Who are you?" Vincent went on, just as mild.
Aeris broke into a grin, wide enough to make Leon nervous. That was one of Aeris' schemes about to thump someone over the head with flowers and a picnic basket. What in the worlds was Aeris planning? And when had she ever found time to set it up?
"Who am I?" Yuffie's arms spread in mock indignation. "I am the ninja princess! Scourge of evil, defender of the planet, the white rose of Wutai!" She whirled, presenting the names like a thrown gauntlet. "I am Yuffie Kisaragi!"
Vincent leaned forward in his chair, ruby gaze somehow softer. "Hello, Yuffie."
Aeiris let out a relieved breath, one fist clenching in hidden triumph.
Corner her later, Leon decided. Something had Aeris giddy as a cat with cream, and he wanted to know what-
"Are you going to be her knight?" Velma asked suddenly.
The man who would always be Rinoa's Knight froze. What the-?
"Excuse me?" Vincent's tone was quiet, without any hint of threat. Spooky all the same, with black fire clinging to him and a Gargoyle and Shadow lurking by his chair.
Velma drew herself up to her full eight-year-old height, straightening her glasses with a scholar's air. "Princesses are supposed to have knights to help them fight the monsters." Grownups are so slow, her prim tone said. "But Yuffie's a ninja princess. She can't have one of those clanky idiots in armor. You look like you know how to sneak." she grinned. "And you already saved her from the monsters."
"Velma!" Yuffie was bright red.
"Re did," Scooby chortled. "Right for the Rincess!"
Vincent blinked. Cast a subtle glance Leon's way, that all but shouted, did that dog just talk?
Amused despite himself, Leon nodded. Poor guy. I need to warn you about Aeris.
"A wise princess takes time to learn about anyone who might become her knight," Vincent suggested, after a few seconds of what looked like very fast thinking. "No oath should ever be spoken lightly, or in haste."
Gives Yuffie a graceful out, and treats the kids seriously. Leon applauded silently. I like you already.
"Um - but - you mean," Yuffie sputtered. One hand dove for a side pocket.
"Blink," Leon murmured for Vincent's ears.
The flash bomb was more of a whoomp than a bang, but it did the job.
Vincent rose from his chair, crouching again to pick up a fragment of eggshell from where the kids had been. "Old-fashioned nageteppo," he observed. "Ninja eggshell bomb. I've only read about these in odd history books."
Aeris' brows shot up, and she laughed. "No wonder she wanted to help with breakfast!"
"Eggshell bombs?" Leon muttered. "Huh." Yuffie was no engineer, but she was showing a definite knack for improvising.
"She wants to be a ninja so much," Aeris went on. "I've told her every story I remember, but you actually know what she made." She gave the sniper a look that mixed pleading and challenge. "I think you could teach each other a lot."
Vincent stiffened. "She's very young."
"Not as young as you think," Leon shrugged. "She's been fighting Heartless almost since we got here." Whether I like it or not. So she'd damn well better be trained for it. "What's the real problem?"
The sniper winced. "You trust too much."
"Young man," Merlin tapped his fingertips together, "I am quite capable of binding a Behemoth in its tracks, not to mention any number of less gentle spells. So I assure you, we do not. Yuffie is young, yes. But she also has a fair amount of experience with magical beasts and Limit Breaks. If you fear Galian or your Red Cloak could harm her... well. You'd have to do it deliberately. And you are simply not that sort of man."
Surprise and wariness flickered over Vincent's face. "Merlin. From the moment the SGC knew Galian existed - I wasn't allowed to leave the Mountain. Or even to leave certain areas, without armed guards."
"Get over it," Leon said bluntly. "We don't have enough people to guard anyone. Limits are dangerous, but they're trainable. If you're going to stay, you're going to learn to deal with it. Or die."
Which probably wasn't the polite thing to say, Leon realized, as Aeris glanced skyward in exasperation. He wasn't good with people, damn it. Quistis could probably give a whole lecture series about it-
Runch crunch crunch crackle crunch!
"...Don't eat that," Vincent sighed.
Flames sparking blue around the eggshell in his mouth, the black fire widened yellow-flame eyes. Slurped the eggshell, tongue of flame turning pinkish and pale yellow as the Heartless cleaned out the last traces of flammable chemicals. Twisted the bit of shell for a better angle, and went back to crunching.
Leon stared. Did that Heartless just wink at me?
Peering around Vincent's shoulder, the Gargoyle pounced.
Flames flickered away moments before her talons could grab him, darting up to Vincent's shoulder and waving white shell with a jaunty air. Leon could all but hear the nyah nya! giggling through the air.
"For goodness' sake," Vincent began.
Which was apparently enough to start a shadowy free-for-all that clambered over, around, and under the sniper like a flame-and-wings whirlwind, eggshell crunches ringing through it all.
Arms crossed, the little Shadow gave Leon a roll of yellow eyes.
Junior officers, Leon translated that glance. What can you do?
She let the scramble go on for almost a minute, then snapped shadowy fingers with an exasperated toss of antennae.
Suddenly meek as a kitten, black flames crept down Vincent's arm, and dropped bits of shell into her outstretched talons.
The Shadow nodded. Stepped forward, and offered the shell-bits to Vincent.
"Still Lea's Boss-lady," the sniper murmured. Blinked, and hastily looked away.
Leon kept his face neutral, all too familiar with the look of a man determined not to cry. "Aeris? How are they... holding together so well?"
"Vincent's their Heart," Aeris said simply. "They could pull him back together because he was part of their team, and they were human, and he was human before Sevarius got nasty. The principle of contagion, right, Merlin?"
"Partly, yes," the wizard agreed, looking at the little Shadow. "Once connected, always connected. But I think there may have been another element... hmm." He glanced at the Gargoyle. "May I touch you for a moment, young lady?"
The stony face blinked at him. Looked at Vincent.
"He's a friend," the sniper said quietly.
"Kind of you to say so, young man. Now, let me see..." Merlin waved his hand just above her arm, teasing out the flow of magic. "Ah. Interesting. Risky, but obviously effective. Well done, young lady."
"Risky?" Vincent said pointedly.
"As Aeris said, in part it was the principle of contagion," Merlin said briskly, stepping back with a polite nod to the Gargoyle. "Both your halves were still connected to your life as a human, so they were able to pull you back toward that life. But it wasn't enough. To reclaim your human life... they had to offer something in exchange." The wizard cleared his throat. "To be blunt, young man - to restore your human nature, they had to accept a part of your inhuman one, as well."
Vincent stiffened in his chair. "They gave up-"
"A part of themselves, to save you," Merlin said gravely. "It was freely given. And I believe that gift allowed you to return the favor. You couldn't keep them from becoming Heartless, any more than they could destroy Galian and Red Cloak within you. But when they made their Hearts part of yours, your humanity was linked to theirs. So long as you remain yourself, their Hearts cannot be fully lost. They'll always have a beacon to guide them home. I do believe we should watch them for a few days, just to be sure... but we've half a dozen strong Hearts in their range, and they've shown no interest at all."
Leon let out a breath of relief. Seeing his team killed had to have been nightmare enough for Vincent. Facing the prospect of possibly having to destroy their Heartless rather than let them hurt anyone else... Leon wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy.
Vincent's gaze was shadowed. "They won't harm anyone?"
"No." Merlin smiled, sad and gentle. "They've no need to hunt, Vincent. They know your Heart as their own."