They were in the Small House. Leon was leaning against his wall by the door, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He wanted to escape this moment; he wanted to escape more than anything. Aerith collapsed onto the bed. Yuffie stood in front of her, having told her the news. She was stunned.

"Cloud's alive?" she repeated softly. He looked up at Yuffie. "He… he's really alive?" Yuffie nodded, smiling.

"He said he's been looking for you all these years," she told her. Aerith beamed, unable to believe it.

"Well, where is he?" she asked, looking around. "Why didn't he come back with you guys?" Leon let out a soft sigh.

"He… he said he had something to take care of first," he said, looking up at her. "But he told us he'd come home." It hurt. It hurt him a lot to say that, but he knew how happy Aerith would be to know. He tried to smile. "Come home… to you." Aerith's smile disappeared as she realized how much he was hurting.

"Leon…" she began. Before she could say anything, Sora, Donald and Goofy barged in, with them a red-haired girl around Sora's age. Everyone's attention immediately turned to them; it was all business.

"You are never going to believe what happened in Hollow Bastion!" Sora exclaimed. Leon turned over to him.

"Tell me what happened," he said to the boy. Sora started telling him everything. Leon listened, his eyes closed and his back against the wall.

"So the darkness is flowing out of the Keyhole..." he said grimly. They had been researching for years, they knew it was coming from one source, but this was quite a twist. It was coming straight from their old home.

"No wonder there are more and more Heartless everywhere," Aerith said, looking over. She smiled at Sora. "The only way to stop them is--"

"Seal the Keyhole, right?" Sora finished for her. Leon sighed again, his eyes still closed.

"Maybe," he muttered. "But no one knows what will happen once it's sealed."

Sora seemed a little irritated. He wanted to do something.

"Well, we can't just stay here," he said, looking around. "We have to do something. I've got a friend back there." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

"That's right," Leon remarked. He got off the wall and looked at Sora. "You have one more friend to worry about. Riku's Keyblade must have been born of the captive princesses' hearts-just like that Keyhole you saw." He glanced at Kairi. "Of course, without Kairi's heart, it remained incomplete. Once that Keyblade was destroyed, the princesses' hearts should have been freed. Don't worry, Sora. If anyone can save your friend, you can."

Sora nodded at him. He went over to Kairi and took her hand.

"You'll be safe here," he told her gently. Kairi smiled.

"You'll be careful, right?" she said. "You don't have to go if you're not feeling alright." Sora sighed. He smiled at her.

"I need to get back there," he said. "Look, I'll just go talk to Cid for a minute." Kairi nodded. Sora gestured Donald and Goofy to follow him, and they left the house. Yuffie walked over to Kairi, her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Wait a second," she said, looking Kairi up and down. "Didn't you say you were from Hollow Bastion originally?" Kairi was a little confused, but nodded again. Yuffie watched her thoughtfully. "So… you escaped 9 years ago?"

"Yeah," Kairi replied, smiling. "I escaped with my grandmother on a Gummi Ship."

"Where is she?" The red-haired girl dropped her gaze, sighing sadly.

"Something happened with the Gummi Ship, I think. She was left behind."

Yuffie's eyes widened a little with her words. She turned around to Aerith and Leon. They moved closer. Aerith frowned slightly.

"So… something happened to the ship?" she asked Kairi. "Like… an asteroid?" Kairi grinned sheepishly.

"I don't know… maybe. I can only remember a little bit at a time. It all just came back to me."

"So," Aerith said. "You were one of the survivors?" Kairi nodded.

"Do you remember anyone else who escaped with you?"

The girl began to think back.

"Well… not really. The only person I remember was that girl who put me into the space capsule, the one that sent me to Destiny Islands." The other three were eager to know.

"What did she look like?" Yuffie asked. Kairi thought and thought.

"I don't know. The only thing I remember is… that she was wearing blue." She looked up at the others. "Yeah, she was the girl in blue."

Aerith's eyes widened. She looked over to Yuffie and Leon. They had the same looks on their faces.

"That means…" she muttered slowly. "That Kairi was in the fourth pod from the Gummi Ship Cloud, Tifa and Rinoa were in…"

"And if she and Cloud made it out…" Yuffie continued, putting all the pieces together. "Then Tifa and Rinoa are still out there too." Aerith turned to Leon. It must have stricken him the most. He turned back to his corner and leaned on the wall.

Rinoa was alive.

The girl from his past, the girl who taught him how to love. He was happy that she was still alive, and he did want to see her again. But…

He looked over at the girl in pink.

Aerith Gainsborough was the girl who he had grown to love, the one who had been there with him for 9 years, caring for him and making him smile. He didn't want to lose her, not after all they've through together. He couldn't lose her. He loved her too much.

He dropped his gaze as Aerith walked over to him. He could see the sympathy in her eyes. He didn't like it.

"Rinoa's alive, Leon," she said, trying to smile. Leon nodded silently, again closing his eyes. Yuffie sensed that they needed some space. She turned to Kairi.

"Sora's probably almost done now," she said, smiling. "I'll take you to the Secret Waterway where you can meet up with him." Kairi glanced over at Aerith and Leon, but she nodded. They left the room quietly.

Aerith let out a soft sigh and turned away.

"Listen," she said quietly. "Cloud… he's coming back now…" She turned around to him. He opened his eyes. They were so full of pain.

"What do you want to tell me, Aerith?" he said, trying to sound casual. "Are you breaking up with me?" Subconsciously, he tightened his fist. Aerith looked at him sadly.

"I… I'm not sure if…" She looked down at her engagement ring. "I'm not sure if I can marry you anymore." Leon's anger overtook him.

"It's… it's not fair!" he shouted. He slammed his fist into the wall. Aerith winced. "I've been with you all this time." He looked at her, breathing hard. "I love you more than anything, and now you want to leave what we had to go back with a boy you haven't seen in 9 years?!" Aerith dropped her gaze. She knew how much she was hurting him. It was more than she could bear. She took a deep breath.

"Aerith…" Leon said, his voice soft. She looked back up at him. His eyes were begging, but he knew that this was going to happen sooner or later.

"I'm sorry, Leon," Aerith said, her eyes watering. She took off her ring. Leon leaned back on the wall and squeezed shut his eyes; he didn't want to see it. "Leon…I just… I'm sorry." Aerith held out the ring to him. He painfully forced himself to look at it. The ring.

It was all over. There was nothing left for him to do anymore.

"Would… would you just wear it until he comes back?" he said softly, ignoring the pain. He looked into her eyes. "Please?" He was hurting so much. The pain; she knew it was more than he could take. She sighed softly and nodded.

"Okay, if it'll make you feel better." She slipped the ring back onto her finger. She gazed at it foe a moment, then back at Leon. "I'm really sorry." He didn't reply. He just continued to stare at the ring on her finger.

There was a soft knock at the door. Aerith and Leon turned to see Yuffie peeping in.

"Hey, you guys," she said. "Cid says we're heading back to Hollow Bastion." Aerith and Leon reacted with surprise.

"What?!"

"Yeah. He says we should head there by Gummi Ship ASAP." She gestured them to hurry up. "Come on." Yuffie ran off ahead. Aerith slowly walked towards the door. She glanced back at Leon over her shoulder.

"Come on," she said gently. Leon looked away. Maybe it'd be better if I stayed. He nodded and got off the wall. He brushed past her. I just don't know anymore.

Aerith sighed again and followed him.

Cid opened the door of the Gummi Ship and stepped to one side. Leon raised an eyebrow.

"What? Aren't you coming too?" he asked. Cid took the straw out of his mouth.

"Some things I wanna take care of before I leave," he said. "I'll come over later." The other three entered into the Gummi Ship. Cid securely closed the door. He gave a quick wave and walked away.

Leon took a seat in the quiet corner. Yuffie looked at him, then at Aerith. She shook her head at her friend, and walked away into the control room. Aerith went over and sat next to Leon. She placed her hand on his thigh. He turned around to her.

"You understand… why I'm doing this…" she said, as gently as she could. "Right?" Leon pushed her off him and went to another seat.

"Forget it," he said coolly. He didn't want her to think that he was hurt as bad as he was. It was hard enough.

Suddenly, the speakers turned on and Yuffie's voice rang throughout the whole ship.

"Hello? Is this thing on? Okay, ladies and gentlemen. Please take your seats as the autopilot is ready for lift off. That is all. We hope you enjoy your flight."

Aerith and Leon buckled down. The ship shook for a moment, and then with a tremendous force, it shot into the sky.

They were in the air for about an hour. It was a long and tiring trip, but they were grateful it was an autopilot, guaranteeing that they wouldn't get lost. Aerith fell asleep on her seat; the trip was a lot for her. Leon constantly glanced over at her. The words she said, they just won't stop ringing in his head.

"I'm not sure if I can marry you anymore…" Leon rubbed his forehead, trying to clear the bitter thoughts. He didn't want to think about it.

The Gummi Ship suddenly stopped, landing down on a block of floating ice. Aerith woke up; startled. Yuffie went over the window.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking around cautiously. Leon walked up behind her, looking out at the dark sky. It looked nothing like the place they grew up in. The Heartless had transformed it into a wasteland. He emitted a weary sigh and reached for the button to open the door.

"We're home."