Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or its characters.

"Well then..." Marluxia grumbled, looking at the white blankets, now stained in blood, that laid over the corpses. He then looked over to see Saïx looking over Leon's wounds. "How is he?"

"Some will scar, especially this one on his face." Saïx responded.

"Guess we'll almost match." Leon stated, trying to have a sense of humour as he smirked. "Ah, you know what they say, scars can make someone better looking."

"Nuk'ta." Saïx chuckled, cuffing Leon around the ear. He then looked over to Marluxia. "How many of our own?"

"No llarcloa taken as slaves were found killed, thankfully we managed to take some back and they're being treated… five medics killed, eight soldiers, and a hell of a lot of southerners." Marluxia answered. "We have two in lock-up who survived; Vexen's treating their wounds moderately and keeping them drugged with herbs so they have no strength." He looked back to the two llarcloa. "You two… your fighting… had your race fought like that before, this war..."

"We want peace… not to make humans hate us more." Leon stated. "And this time was different… we were protecting a base… everyone here." He stood up and stretched, his joints popping. "We should set up a pyre for the dead."

"Cremation?" Marluxia asked.

"Bodies can carry diseases. And we feel when the body is burned, the soul can truly leave and join their ancestors." the brunette llarcloa explained.

"I see." Marluxia nodded. He then looked to Larxene as she approached. "Have we established a connection?"

"Just about; we were going to test it and hope to get a hold of Sephiroth. General Xemnas is working on it already." Larxene responded. She then headed back inside the fortress as Marluxia gave orders to some people, to get things ready to cremate the deceased. He then followed after the captain, the two llarcloa trailing behind. "How is it?" he asked when they entered where Xemnas was.

"Testing now." Xemnas responded. He got the radio working. "This is General Xemnas Heart at Commander Marluxia's medical base."

"General Xemnas? Glad to hear you're okay." came a voice, Zack's to be in fact. There was more talking in the background, perhaps the man telling someone else to fetch Sephiroth. "When those kids arrived and explained what happened, we were concerned. How are things there?"

"Hmm, a few deaths on our part, but overall, we actually didn't lose." Xemnas admitted. "So, the others made it? All of them? Including the twins?"

"Indeed, though not everyone here is pleased to see them; Sephiroth's making sure no one tries anything funny. Even other be… llarcloa that were held in this base have been allowed to move about freely; as you can guess, that's pissing some soldiers off."

"They'll get over it." Xemnas stated. "If soldiers and medics here can get used to a gaggle of llarcloa here, which we thankfully were able to help more so there are more here, too, aside from Saïx and Leon, then they can at that base. If not, they're missing out on an opportunity to make allies. And in this time of need? We definitely need more allies than enemies."

"I couldn't agree more." Ah, Sephiroth's voice. "Sora and Roxas' father is there? Glad to know he's fine."

"Seen better days, but I'm definitely doing well." Leon spoke up, leaning over Xemnas' shoulder. "So, my pups made it there okay."

"Indeed, and got to meet Cloud; but that can be talked about another time." Sephiroth stated. "We're in a predicament, though. The southerners are getting too far north; I'm hoping to arrange a video conference with the other generals."

"Video conference?" Leon inquired, looking to Saïx who shrugged.

"I'll explain later." Larxene told him.

"I don't think I'll be able to do that from here; we took some good hits; we're lucky I got the radio working." Xemnas admitted.

"Damn..."

"Generals, it shouldn't take long on the back of chocobos, if you're quick and don't take too much for supplies, to get back to General Crescent's base." Marluxia spoke up. "We may have taken a beating, but we're strong enough here; we can do well enough should General Heart depart."

"If possible, I'd like to go, too; I need to make sure my pups are fine." Leon added.

"And see your mate." Saïx chuckled, earning a small smile from his friend.

"You'll be fine without us?" Xemnas inquired.

"If Leon and Saïx help the other llarcloa understand we're allies..." Marluxia nodded.

"That won't be hard." Leon confirmed.

"Sephiroth," Xemnas spoke more casually to the other general, "we'll depart this afternoon; it should take about four or five days for us to reach you."

"Then I'll contact the other generals and arrange for us to talk after you arrive." Sephiroth stated. "Before we close off… how is Kadaj?"

"Stubborn, strong, and recovering." Xemnas assured.

"Good. Well, until we see each other. Over and out."

"I'll go speak with the other llarcloa." Leon stated, walking out of the room. "Larxene, I hold it to you to explain to Saïx what this video conference thing is so he can tell me on our way to my pups."

"Medically advanced… but not so much on the technology aspect of things." Larxene chuckled. "Well, let's talk before I go down and… obtain information." She smirked a bit, thinking of working with those they took hostage from the southern forces.

"She will be humane… right?" Xemnas inquired.

"Compared to Xehanort, sure." Marluxia nodded, though that didn't seem to ease the general's mind.

Sora snuggled in close to Riku. Though Roxas voiced his concerns – complaints if you ask anyone else – Sora was very happy to stay in a room with his mate. Riku was sure this was his father teasing them, even jokingly saying be sure to give this old general lots of grand-babies, and he wasn't sure how to handle this, but he was happy to just lie in bed, an arm around his lover that he was spooning. Even better? Sora was in a good mood, having been told that his father and uncle were fine and that a handful of other llarcloa were rescued. This definitely negated the negative energy he got from the soldiers at this base looking at him like an abomination.

"Your tail seems happy." Riku chuckled, feeling it curl around his leg.

"Tails don't lie." Sora giggled. He smiled. "Dad and Saïx… they're both okay. It's sad that some people died there, but… the majority is fine, your brother included, and even other llarcloa are safe and sound." He rolled over a bit to face Riku. "Even ones held hostage here are able to move about and help out; I hope the soldiers see we're not bad soon."

"How are they handling it? The other llarcloa here, I mean."

"They're content in helping; they understand that we all have a worse enemy in common. And they're hoping that assisting in things will make a difference and bring peace for all of us in the end." Sora snuggled in close to Riku's chest, hearing his heart beat in a perfect rhythm, taking in the scent of the man he loved, and smiling at the gentle yet strong arms that went around him. "It'll make it easier for us, too. When peace is found, we can happily raise pups without society looking down on us."

"In time, we'll be able to." Riku smiled, thinking of raising pups. "How do the llarcloa feel when it comes this sort of thing? The one you almost smacked for calling you out on being a hybrid's pup..."

"Hmm, some are bitter, but only because of this war. Most don't care; biologically, we're compatible. The only differences are our physical appearances, reproductive systems, and our senses." Sora stated. "We're not all that different."

"Hmm… more different than you think." Riku stated, confusing Sora. "You guys are kind. Gentle. Understanding. Humans? We're cruel… monsters..."

"Not all." Sora assured. He sat up and leaned down, kissing Riku gently. "You're not. When you first woke up after that explosion, you didn't react too badly. Confused and worried, but you didn't try to attack us."

"I was dizzy, out of it, injured… and admiring you." Riku admitted. "When I came to and you explained things to me… I thought you were cute to begin with." He smiled.

"Even knowing what I was?" Sora inquired.

"Even then." Riku nodded, pulling Sora down to kiss him. He held his lover… his mate close, kissing him passionately. He chuckled when Sora pulled back in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"You stuck your tongue in my mouth… do all humans kiss like that?" Sora asked. He didn't seem to hate it, but it caught him off guard.

"Those who are deeply in love with their mates do." Riku stated. He then reached up, gently touching Sora's face and guiding him back down to kiss more, the llarcloa following suit. Next thing Riku knew, he moved and pinned Sora beneath him, kissing him deeply, passionately, even moving to nip and suck at his neck here and there, leaving behind hickeys.

"Alnen di'avo." Riku whispered softly.

Heyo, lovelies!

Most of those from Marluxia's base are fine, Larxene may be scary, Sora and Riku are completely in love, and I may not read this fic through again for a year or so after I finish uploading all these chapters. Being my own proofreader and hoping I'm doing okay... it's. Not. Easy. Fuck.

That aside, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one. Until then, you beautiful readers!

~chibi