The Journey "Home"

Here is Chapter 4, along with the rest of what I've written. Thanks to those that have read and XeternallyXedwardX(Edward Cullen:D) for reviewing

Enjoy!

Leon kept researching, looking for all the scattered Ansem reports. He still had a hard time believing the once wise ruler was now the cruel leader of the heartless.

Over time Leon grew to care about the keybearer a little, all his hopes of returning to his homeworld rested on Sora. This annoyed Leon to no end, he was depending on someone; Leon hated depending on someone.

He was no longer the hopeless 19 year old who didn't know anything about himself; Leon now knew more than anyone thought. Numerous memories had come back over the years. Squall had been an experienced mercenary and he was madly in love with Rinoa, he also knew Rinoa had once saved him. Squall had once died in a world of limbo, but Rinoa had been able to find him and bring him back. It annoyed him that the he could only see the faces of his other friends, nothing about their names, personalities, or anything. Leon did know that before he had somehow disappeared from that world he had been very happy.

"It's time Leon," Aerith told him as he looked at a map of the galaxy.

He looked up at the woman who had lost so much, she was now 29. Over the past few years she had been able to put on a cheery façade, but with Leon it always faltered a bit. They had been able to form an unbreakable friendship throughout their time together. "You know….when Sora saves all the world a lot of people should be returned to their homeworlds…" He said slowly.

Aerith's face became a mixture of disappointment and pure happiness, "So Tifa will come home?"

"Most likely," Leon's face broke into a rare smile at seeing the happiness on Aerith's face.

"Does that mean you'll go home too?" This was where the disappointment came in. Sure she was happy for Leon that he could finally go home, but it also meant she would lose another best friend.

"I honestly don't think so Aerith," Leon tried as hard as he could to hide the sadness that was now quickly enveloping him.

"Why?" She ran up and hugged Leon and he immediately stiffened as she knew he would; Aerith figured it was better for him to be completely uncomfortable than to be sad.

"I'm from a different universe. I have this theory that some of us have doubles and in that universe is where the doubles reside. I shouldn't be here and I doubt I'll ever go home now that I know about this universe," Leon carefully explained. He didn't want Aerith asking about her tragic double. This life for her may indeed be empty, but it's better than the no life at all she had in the other.

"I'm so sorry Leon, I know how much you want to be Squall again."

He nodded and broke apart their hug, "So what is it time for?"

Her face broke into an expression of realization, "We're going back to Radiant Garden! Well it's now called Hollow Bastion and it's the headquarters of the heartless, but still! We're going ho-" She cut herself off, realizing what she was about to say.

"Yeah we're going to Leon's home," he said with a little smile. It was the best he could muster, even for Aerith's sake.

Sora was asking questions, questions Leon had found himself asking recently. Sora wanted reassurance, he didn't want to lose those he had grown to love, but he knew he had to fight. Seeing the desperation on Sora's face Leon came to a quiet realization and he found the words Sora needed to hear.

"Sora, we may never meet again," Images of Rinoa and the others flashed through Leon's mind. He remembered the times they had shared and he cherished those memories with every aspect of his being, "but we'll never forget each other." He had to hang onto his own memories of his friends, they were who he was and they made him into who he is, he must always cherish their footprints on his life.

Bright lights rained down, all around Leon. He did it, the kid did it. He actually beat that son of a bitch Ansem! The bright lights kept falling and people started disappearing. Cid, Yuffie, Aerith, and he all held hands as they started to disappear. Leon watched Kairi start walking by herself down an icy path. What is she doing? Does she know how risky it is to walk into the unknown? I should know seeing as how I died because I did that all those years ago…Right before Leon completely disappeared he let go of Aerith's hand, if he had a chance to go home this was it. He smiled a little at his hypocrisy. He had just been scolding Kairi for what he was about to do, take one of the biggest risks of his entire life, venture into the unknown of the time-space continuum.

Images flashed in his head and with those images were words. A blond boy with a tattoo running down the side of his face was doing back flips; his name was Zell. A guy with reddish-brown hair and a gun was flirting with a girl in a simple yellow dress; they were Irvine and Selphie. A stern, but caring woman in orange with glasses glared at a group of unruly students; she was Quistis. A slightly balding man held the hand of a woman with a kind face. They were Cid and Matron, Cid and Edea. A girl with kind features, reached her hand out to a little boy; Sis, Ellone. A tall man looked at a gravestone with his two best friends beside him; Laguna, Kiros, and Ward looking at Raine's grave. Finally, a girl in a simple blue dress smiled sadly and mouthed "I'm waiting for you to keep your promise."

Leon collided with the hard ground. He was scared to open his eyes, scared to see where he was or worse, where he wasn't. All around him was silence as he lay there. There wasn't searching for a Squall or a Leon, there weren't heartless running around, there weren't students running around at a mercenary academy either. He waited a few minutes and opened an eye. He saw blue sky above. He opened both eyes, all he saw was blue sky. His hopes were neither dashed nor realized yet. He slowly sat up and looked around, he was surrounded by wreckage. He looked up on a hill and saw…….

The ruins of Hollow Bastion.

"Damn it!" He felt a tear drop slide down his cheek and he began to slam his fist onto the ground. His hand started to bleed, but he didn't care. All he had wanted was to return to his homeworld and see Rinoa, in person, just one last time.

"Leon?" He heard her, but he kept pounding the ground. He was hoping it would suddenly crumble and transport him home, "Leon?!" He heard running and pounded all the harder. "Leon, stop!" A warm hand was placed on his shoulder and pulled him gently back where he fell on his ass, but didn't care. Aerith kneeled down and brought Leon into a tight hug. He put his face on Aerith's shoulder. Squall Leonhart was not one who liked to cry, he despised it, but as he sat there against his best friend's shoulder, his hopes crushed he felt the tears rise. He sat with his face against Aerith's warm shoulder for 20 minutes. When she finally spoke her voice was full of sympathy, "Leon, come on. They're waiting on us inside the library." She gently pulled him up and led him inside the ruins of the castle by the hand.

Outside of the doorway to the library they stopped and she took her hand away. He nodded his head to show he was ready and put his usual emotionless face on. They walked into the library and Yuffie's jaw dropped when she saw Leon. Why is he still here? She asked herself. He silently walked over to stand next to her in the corner.

"Where's Cid?" Aerith asked Yuffie, with a false cheerful voice.

"He's bringing some new guy. Apparently he's friends with Sora," Yuffie explained uncaringly, staring at Leon.

The door to the library opened and Cid walked in, followed by a guy with spiky blond hair. One part of it stuck straight up and he had the prettiest eyes Aerith had ever seen. He wore a black uniform with armor scattered on it and a reddish cape. He had a huge bandaged sword on his back. She suddenly felt like her old self and wanted a better look at his eyes. The blond man looked down at the ground so Aerith placed her face under his so they made eye contact, "My name is Aerith, what's yours?"

The man couldn't help but be intrigued by the beautiful woman, "I'm Cloud."

Leon suddenly looked up. Remembering his research into Aerith's double his eyes narrowed, Cloud's arrival could bring trouble in the form of a man named Sephiroth.

"What's with the bloody knuckles?" Yuffie whispered to Leon, concerned.

"I hit the ground hard," he explained shortly. He needed to think about what he should do about Cloud.

"What?" Yuffie asked surprised. She and the others had gently been placed to the ground on their feet right after disappearing.

"Yeah you know when we crashed after those few seconds in limbo," he explained, not picking up on Yuffie's confusion.

"Oh what did you see in your limbo?" Now Yuffie was prying for information, noticing Leon not really paying attention to her.

"Zell,-" He turned to look at her with a perturbed expression, realizing what he was saying, "What do you think?"

"Sorry, I was just asking!" Leon turned back to stare at Cloud who was now flirting slightly with Aerith.

Leon had no problem whatsoever with those two flirting, he knew they belonged together. He had a problem with fate, fate was supposed to keep them separate so Aerith wouldn't die. At least that's what he had always assumed. If Cloud knew nothing about Sephiroth then maybe this wouldn't turn out so bad….

Leon walked up next to Aerith and said, "Hi, I'm Leon," Cloud nodded towards him, he went back into his little emotionless shell. Leon almost laughed at how similar they could be, "I'm just wondering Cloud, have you ever heard of a man named Sephiroth?"

The look on Cloud's face said everything. His eyes narrowed and a look of pure hatred appeared on his face. Leon felt Aerith stiffen a little, she was expecting a fight to break out between the two now. Leon knew Cloud hated Sephiroth with every fiber of his ebing from that look, he figured Cloud didn't know that some of his hatred came from his double's life. The life where Sephiroth murdered Aerith.

"How do you know that bastard's name?" Cloud looked at Leon straight in the eye.

"I've heard of his evil ways and that he had a rivalry with one of the most powerful fighters ever. This fighter has blond spiky hair and a large sword. He also has lost his way in life and lost a good portion of his will to live, the only reason he still fights is to find and defeat Sephiroth." Leon was partially lying, Sora had told him that he had met a fighter who had lost his way and Leon realized it was Cloud.

Cloud stared at the ground, he didn't want people really knowing about his past. He looked up at the man he was talking to, Leon, was it? I've heard that name before, "So you must be the famous protector of Traverse Town. The guy who went and defeated many of the heartless there for selfish reasons. You protected so you could return to your former glory right?" Leon just stared at Cloud. How could this guy know what Leon had barely admitted to himself? "Hades wanted to recruit you, but he just happened to find me first. Sora told me a few things about all you guys. It also helps that I'm a SOLDIER, I can just read people." Leon stared at this guy, in a form of awe. Cloud was doing the same, but was doing a much better job at hiding it.

"Well I guess you would like to see the town wouldn't you?" Leon asked. He was going to give Cloud and Aerith at least one night alone so Leon could think about how to handle this situation, "Aerith, why don't you show Cloud around?"

Aerith pulled Leon aside, out of Cloud's earshot, "Am I that obvious?" She asked excited, but nervous at the same time.

Leon gave her a false smile, "Not at all. I just know you too well."

Aerith gave him a concerned look, "And I know you too well. You're hiding something from me! What is it?" Leon gave her a questioning glance, knowing she'd be able to see through it, "Leon, what's wrong?"

He had to give her an answer, but he couldn't tell her the truth; it could either hurt her or scare her. So he held up his still bloody hand, "This."

"I'm sorry Leon. If you want you could have Yuffie show Cloud around and you and I can have a nice night in."

Leon remembered the parallel meeting between Yuffie and Cloud and almost laughed, "Nah, I don't think Cloud would be too happy if Yuffie stole all his stuff."

Aerith nodded and gave Leon a quick pat on the shoulder to let him know she was there for him.

"Shall we go?" She stuck her hand out to Cloud and he just stared at it, "I'll let you hold my hand if you buy a flower from me for one munny!" She smiled as he took her hand.

"The hell? That made no sense!" Cid exclaimed. To Leon it made perfect sense, it made too much sense. This was looking a lot like the meeting of the alternate Cloud and Aerith.

"So Cloud, do you like Aerith?" Yuffie teased 3 weeks later as she, Leon, and Cloud walked around the town surveying the damage. Cloud's response to her question was to stare at her out of the corner of his eye. "C'mon Cloud, you can trust me with a secret!!" This made Leon laugh a little.

"I'm guessing she can't keep a secret then?" Cloud asked with a small smirk.

"Not if her life depended on it," Leon said.

"Hey!" Yuffie playfully punched Squall in the chest. Of course she could hit extremely hard and she hit him in the bad part of his chest and a flash of pain went through Squall so bad that he had to clutch where he was hit.

"Damn it Yuffie, why did you have to hit me so hard?"

"I didn't hit you that hard!"

"Yuffie, you're a freaking ninja, you grew up learning how to hit hard. AND you hit me in my sore spot!" Leon let go of himself and started rolling his left arm.

"You're kinda a wimp," Cloud observed.

"You try getting stabbed with an ice knife and then getting hit by a freaking ninja and then tell me that I'm a wimp," Leon pointed out. Yuffie stopped walking while Leon said that. He instantly noticed and turned around, "What?"

"You weren't stabbed with an ice blade, the wound just appeared…" Yuffie said confused. Cloud then proceeded to look at Leon confused as well.

"Yuffie it is my life remember?" Leon was slightly annoyed that she was questioning about things she knew nothing about.

"Remember how half your life disappeared and you have a big memory gap? Also remember that scar wasn't there 'til that day?" She seemed to be getting annoyed too.

"Wow what a nice lover's quarrel," Cloud commentated.

"Firstly, Cloud we're not lovers. Secondly, Yuffie, the scar had appeared the night before it opened, I just didn't tell you. And I've started remembering things including getting the wound in the first place, but I'm not going to share my memories with you."

"Gah Leon! Why do you have to be such a dickhead all the time!" She stormed off into the distance.

"It actually worked…" Leon said almost smugly.

"What did?" Cloud asked curiously.

"Being mean to her to get her to leave."

"Nice. Why did you want her to leave?"

"So I could get something straight," Leon turned to Cloud, glaring, "If you hurt Aerith, or are responsible for Aerith getting hurt, I will personally kill you."

Cloud looked at him stunned, "I've only been here a few weeks, I practically just met Aerith. Why do you assume I automatically like her?" I mean I do, but that doesn't mean he has to go threatening me! "Besides I don't hurt people on purpose, well unless they're Sephiroth, but that's different. Anyway, I have no intention of hurting Aerith and I wish you would leave me alone about it."

"I can read people too you know, and I know for a fact that you have feelings for Aerith," Leon said warningly.

"Brave claim for a young guy," Cloud said, teasing Leon a bit so they could get the mood back to friendly, but also making it clear he wasn't scared of Leon.

"Hey you're only 2 years older! Besides you're still a year younger than Aerith!" Leon claimed.

"At least I'm not a cradle robber!" Leon looked at Cloud confused, "You and Yuffie, I mean she's like 5 years younger than us and I sensed something going on."

Leon began to walk again, not looking at Cloud. After a few seconds he started to explain things, "I lost all my memory a while back. I pretended like it didn't bother me, I was a completely different person. Yuffie and I started dating then, but one night at this ball thing I started remembering things about my life.While I was with Yuffie I felt like there was something missing, something huge, and I felt…guilty…for forgetting whatever it was. That night at the ball I looked up and I remembered what it was. This girl, she was the one who got me past all my stupid issues, she was the one who showed me what happiness is. She saved me so many times in so many ways. The next day I ignored my fleeting dream of her and the scar that appeared and I kissed Yuffie like nothing was wrong. That's when my heart let me know I needed to quit running and face my issues. It let me know by reopening the scar," Leon glanced sheepishly at Cloud whose face remained emotionless, "Sorry for spilling my life story to you, it's the influence of Rinoa, if it wasn't for her I never would've said more than a few words to you."

"It's fine. You actually just helped me out, by reminding me that I have to do something before it's too late."

Leon watched, perplexed, as Cloud ran off back to their apartment.