Being rewritten to fit better in the Unavoidable Truth series. It's not necessary to read that one to understand this one. I only own the story itself.

Rewrite Aug 23.

A Life Renewed

"Wow, it's really pouring." Sora commented, looking out the upstairs window. "Now I'm kinda glad I got house duty."

"Yeah," Yuffie did not glance up from the magazine she was leafing through. "The guys are gonna be totally pissy when they get back. Squall will have ruined another pair of leather pants."

"His own fuckin' fault for always wearin' 'em." Cid was drawing out a new schematic for a tram idea Riku had recently brought back from Twilight Town. He murmured to himself. "Be easier to fuckin' build a monorail."

"Oh, that'd be cool." Yuffie was suddenly paying attention. "Don't they got one of those at Disney Castle?"

"Yeah." Cid grunted.

"Are you finished with the polishing, Sora?" Aerith quietly called from the attic crawl space.

"Oh, yeah." He studied the weapon in his hand. "Why did Cloud pick this of all things? It's huge."

Yuffie glanced up and her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! I haven't seen that in years! Where the heck was it?"

"Cloud had it on him." Aerith poked her head down. "He never told me why."

"So if he's got First Tsurgi now, why keep this?" Sora tilted his head.

"The Buster sword was originally Zack's."

"Ohhh." He had heard about Zack, mostly from Aerith. Cloud usually got real quiet or left whenever he came up.

Zack had been Aerith's boyfriend for a while and Cloud's best friend and had died protecting Cloud. Sora had the impression that Zack and Cloud had been more than that but he did not risk asking. He knew Cloud was not likely to answer and he didn't want to start something awkward with Aerith. Questioning her about her dead boyfriend's sexual habits seemed like a bad idea.

He did once ask Riku if Cloud had ever talked to him about Zack. Riku had gotten an odd look on his face and after a moment simply said that it was the past and therefore not any of their business. Sora could not tell if that had come from not knowing the story and not caring or if Riku did know something and did not want to get into it.

"Well, Zack must have been a pretty strong guy." Sora stood, hefting the sword with him. "I still can't believe how easily Cloud used it."

Aerith smiled as she reached down to take the Buster from the newly turned seventeen year old. She grunted a little herself, pulling it up with both hands and back into the attic. Once she disappeared from view, Sora bounded down the stairs. "You gonna do something today, Yuffie or just sit around reading?"

"But we have you to be the servant boy." Yuffie laughed.

"Hey!" Sora moved to hit her but did not do so.

"Knock it off, you two!" Cid grumbled. "I swear, I'm moving into the garage."

"Good." Yuffie stuck out her tongue. "We don't like you're sour puss face anyway."

"One-"

"I'm goin'!" Yuffie stomped a foot and headed for the back of the house. Sora did not know where she was going nor did he really care at that moment.

He walked over to Cid and frowned at the blueprints. "So is it really going to be that hard?"

"The tram?" Cid shrugged. "We got narrow streets here. It can be done but it's gonna be a bitch an' I don' think it's gonna be practical in the end."

"Oh."

"Maybe Riku can figure somethin' out." Cid threw his head back. "Oh, hell, I might even have him run it by the psycho."

Sora knew exactly who Cid was talking about. "You're always going to call him that, aren't you?"

"He earned it." The middle-aged blonde straightened out. "Course I'll never say it to his face."

No surprise there. Sora was still a bit uneasy with Sephiroth's presence and over the past month he had been around the man almost as much as Riku. Since Riku and Cloud's engagement, Sephiroth had been interactin with the Restoration Committee fairly regularly. Aerith was completely fine with the man's presence and even gone so far as to invite him to dinner a few times.

A rather obnoxious ring tone abruptly sounded and Cid gave Sora a look as he took the phone from his pocket. He had personalized tones for everyone and the brunet already knew who it was. "Hey, Riku."

Cid snorted. "Yeah, that tone fits him."

Sora turned away. "What's up?... Yeah, I guessed that…. Why me?" Sora pouted. "Fine. Bye."

He hung up and Cid raised an eyebrow. "What the hell was that about?"

"Riku wants me to somehow force Leon to get out of the rain. Apparently, there's a ton of indoor stuff that can be done but he's fixating on the back landing." Sora explained while dialing in a number. "Says it's my job cause Leon listens to me on occasion." The pout intensified. "Then he called me his boyfriend."

Cid hunched back over his prints. "How the fuck did I get surrounded by pretty boys?"

Sora shrugged, waiting for Leon to answer. Another tone passed before he did. "Riku needs to focus on his own work."

"Hi, Leon. Why are you out working in the rain?"

"It has to get done."

"Yeah, but does it really have to be today? I mean, come on."

There was a pause followed by the quietest of sighs. "I suppose not. I just…"

Sora frowned. "Just what?"

"Didn't want to be in the house with the love birds." Sora could picture the scowl on the brunette's face.

"Ah." Yeah, living with Cloud and Riku was a bit difficult at times. "They really need their own place before they get married."

"It's in the works." Leon stated stiffly. His tone softened with his next words. "Things all right there?"

"Oh, yeah. Cid's cursing, Yuffie's complaining, and Aerith's cleaning, making me do the tough stuff."

"Sucks to be you."

"I'll take it over watching the love birds more than I have to." Sora laughed. "I say we make them go out tonight."

"Fine by me. We haven't had a night to ourselves since you two got here."

Sora blushed just a bit. A few months ago, he and Leon had begun moving into a much more physical relationship. They had quickly and mutually ended that progress but that did not in any means mean that Sora had forgotten the things they had done. He had not spent much time alone with the man since then. "True."

"See you all at six." Leon hung up.

Sora closed his phone.

"You know, I didn't rig those things for you people's social lives." Cid stuck a lollipop in his mouth. Two weeks ago they had finally managed to convince him to quit smoking. "But that's all you seem to use them for."

"Now you know that's not true."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm goin' to the shop. If Riku shows up before me, have him look over those prints."

He walked off and Sora stood alone in the main room. He would be the first to say he loved living here. At first, when he had decided to move to Radiant Garden along with Riku, he had been a bit concerned with how well he was going to fit into the daily routine here. He worked great as a visitor but he knew being a live-in member of the group was going to be different.

However, he had slipped into the routine easily, not realizing that on his many trips with Riku, he had already established himself among them.

There was a light pounding at the front door and Sora frowned. Who would be out in this rain? It had to be something important because there were rarely visitors to Aerith's house.

"Was that the door?" Aerith called down.

"Yeah," Sora replied already walking over to answer. "I got it."

He opened the door and blinked. There stood a tall young man Sora had never seen before; he was certain if he had he would remember. The only others he had ever seen with eyes that bright were Riku, Cloud and Sephiroth. And the shade of purple… just wow. It took him a moment to speak. "Uh, can I help you?"

The man laughed nervously, running a hand through long, swept back spikes of jet black hair. He smiled easily despite the uncertainty in his eyes. "Uh, hi there."

"Uh, hi."

The ebony haired man rubbed at the back of his neck. "Sorry for disrupting you but I was sent over here by one of the people in the marketplace. I'm trying to find a Cloud Strife."

"Oh, uh. He isn't here." Noting the half-relieved look on the man's face, Sora tilted his head. "What do you want him for?"

A mischievous glint took over those violet eyes. "We're old friends."

Sora frowned, giving the stranger a quick look-over. He was dressed like a soldier in black cargo pants and midnight blue knit sleeve-less shirt. A few belts were strapped on but no armor. He had the build of someone who favored swords. Was this guy from the Coliseum?

"Sora, who is it?" Aerith was coming down the stairs.

The man's mouth turned down for a moment as if remembering something. In a loud yet somehow soft voice, he called out. "Aerith?"

Sora looked back at her as she paused. There was a brief look of confusion before her eyes completely lit up. A hand rose to cover her mouth as she gasped. "Zack!"

"Zack!" Sora gaped, looking over the man again more closely.

Aerith skipped the last few steps. Sora moved to the side and she nearly leapt into the man's arms. He picked her up in a tight hug, huge smile on his face. "Hey, Aer. I should have known you'd be here."

She pulled away, beaming. "When?"

"A few weeks ago." He replied as she ushered him in.

"You're soaked. Sora, go get a towel."

Sora was already doing as she said before he asked himself why was he simply doing as she said. He should have been demanding to know what was going on. How could Zack be here when he was supposedly dead? Well, he could ask questions just as easily once the guy was dry.

He came back in time to hear most of Zack's explanation. "I woke up in that Coliseum place. Once my memories settled, I started asking around if anyone knew you guys and finally found some goatman who knew Cloud and said he was probably here."

"He is." Aerith suddenly frowned a little and seemed a bit hesitant. "There are some things you need to know."

Zack studied her a long moment. He then moved away and sat on the coffee table. He folded his arms and studied the floor. "So he's finally moved on, huh?"

Aerith nodded, watching him closely.

"Well, that's good." Zack clearly was not as happy about this fact as he was pretending to be. "Spiky deserves to be happy more than anyone."

"He does." Aerith quietly agreed.

After another minute, the newcomer raised his head and looked at Sora. "So, I'm guessing you're the infamous Keyblade Master everyone's talking about."

"Huh? Oh, uh yeah." Sora was still totally floored. "Um, aren't you dead?"

Zack's laugh was infectious. "I was. Now I'm not."

"But how?"

"Dunno really; same way Aerith did I guess." He stood back up. "You got anything to drink around here? I'm dyin'."

Without waiting for an answer he strolled over to the kitchen. The guy was just making himself at home and Aerith did not seem to care at all. In fact, she seemed rather thrilled about it. Wait, didn't they use to go out? But they were just talking like Zack and Cloud had been… Sora was really confused.

After the man got himself a beer, he returned to his original position. Taking a long draw from the bottle, those intense violet eyes flicked Sora's way. "Judging from the dead comment, I'm guessing you know who I am."

"Kinda." Sora rubbed the back of his head. "Riku's mentioned you."

"Who's Riku?"

"Cloud's boyfriend." Aerith answered, a weak smile going with the statement.

"Ah," Zack nodded once. His eyes were almost as expressive as Riku's. Sora could read everything in them and right now there was some obvious pain.

"You use to date Cloud, didn't you?"

Zack raised an eyebrow, that pain morphing into amusement. "Didn't give you much detail, did they?"

Sora shrugged. "Wasn't my business."

"Good answer!" He laughed. "I don't know if I'd call it dating but yeah, Cloud and I had something going on."

"But I thought…" He glanced at Aerith.

She picked up the thought instantly. "Zack and I dated but well, we made better friends in the end."

Okay, Sora understood that. He had just gone through something similar with Kairi. Of course everything else was a total mess but he figured eventually he would get it all. There was one thing however he picked up on and it could spell disaster. "So you're back for Cloud?"

"Uh," Zack turned his face away and scratched the back of his head. "Well, that thought had crossed my mind but if he's got someone else, I'm not gonna get in the middle of that. All I've ever wanted for Spike was for him to be happy."

He suddenly laughed loudly. "Besides, I've never been too good with the commitment thing anyway."

Sora could tell right away the cheerfulness was an act but the man also meant what he said. He would not interfere if Cloud was happy.

"So, tell me a little about what I've missed." Zack dropped down on the coffee table again. "Last thing I actually remember clearly is hanging out in the Lifestream with you, Aer. Then some weird dark shadow started taking over everything and you were gone."

Aerith placed her arms behind her back. "I was somehow pulled from the darkness and woke up in a place called Traverse Town alive. Yuffie and Cid ended up there, too. Cloud some how got separated from them."

"The darkness took him." Zack said certainly. "He's always been weak against it."

"Yes, but his heart is strong." Aerith smiled. "He fights it for all he's worth."

"Yeah, he does. Did Sephiroth make it through?"

Aerith grinned more. "Oh, he made it through."

Zack stared at her in confusion. After a beat, he seemed to finally get her meaning. His eyes brighten and a lopsided grin came upon him as he straightened up. "Really? He's seriously okay now?"

"Jenova has been contained and it looks like for good."

"Thank Shiva." Zack breathed out. "It was so hard seeing him like that. Seph didn't deserve any of that shit. I still don't blame him for snapping but damn if he didn't do it spectacularly. Of course, he is the Great Sephiroth. I'll have to go see him."

"He'd like that. He talks of you fondly."

"How's Cloud taken it?"

"He's… adjusting." Aerith slowly got out.

"If you call not drawing his sword or running for his life when he's within 500 feet of him adjusting." Sora muttered.

Zack stared at him, almost as if appraising him before barking out a laugh. He pointed a finger from the hand with the beer bottle at him. "I think I'm gonna like you, kid. You remind me a lot of Cloud before all the crazy shit went down."

He reminded Zack of Cloud? Cloud use to be like him? No way. That was something Sora simply could not accept. Sora was energetic and positive, somewhat naive (though he loathed to admit to it). Those things did not describe Cloud in any way.

Zack must have seen his disbelief because he grinned broadly. "Oh don't you worry, kid. After a few days, you'll start to see it. I'll snap him out of that emo mode he's been for the past ten years."

Sora wished him luck with that. It would be interesting to see Cloud cheerful. Granted, he had seen the man happy and you always knew when he and Riku had been screwing around because there was just this relaxed attitude he got but he never was just simply…cheerful; never in a good mood without reason.

"He's gonna flip when he sees you." Sora commented.

"Probably." Zack shrugged. "It'll be fun."

"What'll be fun?" Leon walked in from the back. Upon seeing Zack, he paused to regard the stranger carefully. "Who's this?"

"Leon, this is Zack." Aerith introduced, watching Leon's reaction.

His expression was as impassive as always. He nodded once and folded his arms. "So another one of Cloud's friends found his way here. Lucky him."

There was a subtle bitter tone to his words that Sora clearly heard.

"Well, welcome to Radiant Garden. I hope you can work because there's a lot to do and everyone here has to help out."

Sora frowned and waited for Zack's reply. The ebony haired man gave Leon a lazy stare then smirked. "I can do anything Cloud can't do."

Leon kept that cool gaze on him. "Good. That means you can do just about everything but kill Sephiroth."

Zack laughed in that brash way of his. "Exactly. You really do know Spike."

The younger man raised an eyebrow before walking toward the kitchen. "I'm guessing dinner hasn't been started."

"Oh!" Aerith put a hand to her mouth. She looked a bit sheepishly at Zack before following Leon. "I guess I got caught up talking."

Once the two left, Zack turned to Sora. "Leon doesn't talk much, does he?"

"Nope. More than Cloud usually does but he's pretty quiet."

"Huh." Zack glanced in the direction of the kitchen. "He reminds me a little of Seph."

Now he was comparing Leon to Sephiroth? Sora did not even want to think about that one. There was no way those two could be alike.

"He the only survivor?"

"What?"

"From his world," Zack clarified. "What he said earlier. He's the only one who made it from his world, right?"

"Oh, yeah, as far as we know." Sora tilted his head thoughtfully. "I guess he's kinda jealous of Cloud because most of his friends have returned."

Zack nodded, still staring down the path the other two had taken. He was thinking over something carefully.

The front door opened and Riku's soft chuckle could be heard. Both Sora and Zack turned their heads to watch Riku followed by Cloud walk in. Riku had his back to them and doing something with the blonde's hair, obstructing Cloud's view. Neither of them seemed to notice the other two in the room.

With a hesitant smile, Zack called out, "Hey, Cloud."

Riku paused then slowly turned toward the voice. Cloud had frozen in place, still not moving once Riku was out of his line of sight. His expression was one of utter shock and he didn't even try to speak. His face said it all.

Riku frowned at the black haired man, figuring out imediately who this was. He kept his contence relatively neutral but his eyes darkened. He was obviously unsettled by Zack's presence.

Zack only continued to smile that near obnoxiously bright grin of his. "I'm back."