Wanderers,

Hello, hello! How have you guys been? I hope you're all having a wonderful summer so far.

I just got a new full time job related to my field of study. I'm very excited about it, but ,I'm hoping that I'll continue to put out at least a chapter for each of my stories (This one and Make Them Hear You) a week,despite being busy. I know it may not be as often as you guys like, but with two stories, a social life, and a job, I don't think it's too bad.

Thank you for all that you do for me. Your undying love and support for this story are what have kept it alive for so long. Only a couple more weeks and it'll be it's 1st birthday!

Much love and warm wishes to you all.

~Eliza


Three weeks slipped by and the gang had adjusted to their new "home". Not everyone had made the change as easily as others, of course, and some of the gang was still reluctant to become comfortable in the college. There were certain members who wanted nothing to do with the place and couldn't wait to leave. One of these members had silver hair, another had a scar across his face, and the last played the guitar.

The others, though, seemed at peace with not having to run or hide at any given moment. They liked being able to sleep in a bed, take a shower, and sit down at a table to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They liked the stable lifestyle and the reassurance that there were walls around them to keep them safe.


Aerith and Cid, despite all odds, became wonderfully good friends and colleges. The brunette spent most of her time in the medical wing under Cid's guidance. He taught her everything he knew about the plague causing havoc and she told him everything she could about Riku's condition. They both looked after Roxas and treated anyone else's minor injuries or illnesses in-between discussing their best options for finding a cure. There was something about Cid's gruff demeanor that Aerith was drawn to. Of course she'd find a way to connect with the angry old man. She was Aerith, after all; she had a goodness inside of her that could crack through anyone's shell as long as she tried hard enough.

They spent hours in the medical wing talking. Aerith would bring her dinner into his little office and the two would sit together while they ate. She'd talk about anything she felt like and he'd try to steer her back to something medical related. She'd pry until she could get answers from him to personal questions. Was he married? Did he have kids? Where had he worked before the apocalypse? Did he have a big house? Dogs? Cats? Lizards? A pool? A truck? A boat? Where did he grow up? Where did he go to school? Who was his childhood best friend? Did he miss his parents? Were his parents still alive?

Normally Cid would ignore her when she asked these types of questions, but eventually he got sick of listening to her talk. He finally answered one day.

"I had a wife. She left me because I worked too much. Happy?" Cid thought his blunt and short response would be enough to satisfy the girl. He was terribly wrong.

Three weeks of interrogation. Three weeks of endless storytelling and communicating and Cid couldn't have hated it any more than he did. But there was just something about that young, beautiful doctor that he couldn't push aside. At first he thought it was because she was pretty, but sooner or later he found he wasn't truly attracted to her. He then thought it was because she was a doctor like him, and he finally had someone competent enough to converse with. When he found himself discussing things other than diseases and treatments, though, he finally realized what it was.

She reminded him of his daughter. They didn't look the same, they didn't act the same, and they weren't even the same age. Quinn was fourteen when her mother's neighborhood was over-run. If she had been in his custody that day… if it had been his week to take care of her… his baby girl never would have turned.

Aerith's eyes were full of hope. Quinn's eyes were like that, too.


Tifa and Cloud had quite a bit of time to reminisce while they took care of the children in the safe-house. They would put them to bed at night and then they'd remember all the fun times they had together as children in a hushed whisper so they wouldn't wake the kids. The seven of them were all orphans. Tifa had been raising them on her own until Cloud came along. The job was much easier with two people.

Cloud was more patient than Tifa, for one. The woman loved children and could handle quite a bit of their nonsense, but Cloud seemed to have innumerable amounts of time and love for each child. It was as if he never tired of hearing the same stories, playing the same games, and teaching the same lesson. Tifa would watch as he gathered the children around and taught them how to play card games or sports. He had an air about him that spread joy to the children and to her. She had missed that feeling.

"You know, I always wanted kids." Cloud mentioned casually one night.

"You're so different than how you used to be." She responded. He smiled at her sheepishly and ran his hand through his hair.

"You knew me when I was young and stupid. I'm a different man." He explained before tucking one of the kids in. Tifa smiled back at him and grabbed his hand once he took it away from the covers.

"I like different. Different is good." She cupped his chin and kissed him.


Aerith studied with Cid, Cloud had his job with the children, Demyx worked in the kitchen, and Larxene was put to work on guard duty. She wasn't allowed to guard by herself since she was an outsider, so they stuck her with another guard who patrolled the hallways at night. The two of them walked the halls of the college while everyone else slept. It got lonely at night, but they couldn't have noticed. They had all the company they could have wanted with each other.

"You've got to be shitting me. No way!" Larxene looked at him in disbelief and laughed when he shook his head.

"I'm telling you the truth! It really did happen." Marluxia tried his best to convince her.

"There's no way you drank an entire gallon of milk in under an hour. It's not possible! You throw it up before you can finish!" She laughed and hit him playfully. He shook his head and tightened his grip on her hand.

"I swear on my life that I did it!" He laughed with her as they walked down the empty hall together.

"I'd tell you to prove it but there's no milk because of the apocalypse. Pretty convenient for someone who is lying." She teased him and poked his chest accusingly. He frowned in response and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder. She let out a cry of surprise and began pounding lightly on his back, demanding he set her down.

" What? I'm sorry, I can't understand what you're saying." He pretended not to hear her pleas and continued to carry her through the hall. She stopped struggling and Marluxia took the opportunity to grab her ass while it was slung over his shoulder. She grabbed his ass, too, in retaliation.

"Hands to yourself, pretty boy." She smirked as he set her down in front of him.

"You sure about that?" He wrapped his hands from either side of her neck into her hair as he kissed her. She melted into his touch and kissed him back with even more force. He shifted their weight so that Larxene was leaning against the hallway's wall and he was towering over her, kissing her softly while she struggled for more.

"Larx?" A familiar voice interrupted their moment and the two separated. The blonde looked over to see Demyx staring at her. Shit…

"Dem? What are you doing up? It's the middle of the night…" She asked.

"I couldn't sleep. Figured I'd come keep you company. I guess I didn't need to worry, huh?" He scowled in Marluxia's direction. The pink-haired man squeezed Larxene's hand and motioned toward his room.

"I'll head back to the room and leave you two alone, okay?" He kissed her softly before walking down the hall and out of sight. The blonde waited for her best friend to scream at her, yell, or cuss. She cringed when she saw how Demyx was tearing up instead.

"You're going to get hurt, you idiot. We're going to leave when Roxas is better and you'll have to leave him." The guitar player clenched his fists as tears spilled down his cheeks.

"I know. Demyx… listen…" Larxene began to speak, but he cut her off.

"I thought you didn't want a boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend, Dem. He's just—"

"A guy you're fucking?"

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"Why are you doing this to me?! You know how I feel about you, Larxene!"

"I wasn't lying when I told you I didn't want a boyfriend. I'm not capable of being in a relationship."

"But you can fuck whomever you want, huh? That's okay?"

"Stop yelling!"

"Why should I? You told me you felt something for me!"

"And I do, Dem. You're my best friend. You're my rock in this shitty ass world. That's why I can't be with you."

"But you can be with a stranger you just met?"

"That's why I'm with him! Don't you get it? A week more and we're out of here. Once Roxas is able to leave we're going to be gone and Marluxia will never see me again or think of me again and I'll never think about him. It means nothing. I can't hurt him if…" Larxene grew quieter and stopped talking. Demyx looked at her, eyes still full of tears, but he was no longer clenching his fists.

"You can't hurt him if you die…" Demyx finished her train of thought.

"I'm sick, Dem. I'm dying. You know that I won't make it past a year. I can't do that to you. I can't let you fall in love with me knowing that I won't be there for you." She reached out for him but he moved out of her grasp.

"Just because he can't get hurt when you die, doesn't mean I can't." The guitar player closed his eyes and turned his back on his friend. "And not being with me didn't stop me from falling in love with you." He walked out of sight down the hall while Larxene struggled to control her tears.


Sora and Axel spent their time alternating between sitting by Roxas' bedside and training for their mission. They barely slept. They barely ate. Every second was spent holding the blond's hand or pushing themselves to the limit in order to survive. Axel used his comatose boyfriend as motivation to live. Sora remembered Riku's horrifying words to him long ago.

"I can't keep taking care of you Sora. I can't put myself in danger to save you anymore. If I die and we lose the cure, what kind of world would I be leaving you to fend for yourself in? I can't do that to you. I can't do that to humanity. I need to be away from you Sora, or I'll always be in more danger than I would on my own."

The brunet used those words to fuel himself as he struggled to make himself stronger and faster. Three weeks of grueling training had made his muscles more prominent, made his legs propel himself farther for longer, and his whole body felt like a fine-tuned machine. He'd show the Silveret that he wasn't helpless. He'd show him just how little he needed him to survive.


With Sora and Axel hiding, and Aerith busy searching for a cure, Leon and Riku found themselves spending a lot of time with Irvine. The three men did odd jobs for the boss around the safe-house as their payment. It wasn't terribly hard work and it left them plenty of time to goof around and bond. Riku was grateful for a distraction from the brunet that haunted his thoughts. He hated that he never knew where Sora was, though, seeing as the boy was avoiding him at all costs ever since their incident in the shower.

Occasionally Leon would spend time with Aerith in the medical wing, leaving Riku and Irvine to fend for themselves. Luckily enough the cowboy seemed to pick up on the fact that Riku didn't really have anywhere else to go, and let him stick around when Leon was gone. The two began forming a friendship slowly and painfully, since Leon was the glue that normally held them together, but it proved to be one of Riku's favorite things. He and Irvine shared the same type of humor, liked the same music, and even had the same favorite food. They were like brothers separated at birth. They'd stay up late playing poker and cracking jokes or telling stories. They suddenly became inseparable and Leon couldn't have been happier. They were both his friends, after all, and it made everything so much easier for him that they got along so well.


By the last day of their third week in the safe-house all of the gang members had become used to the new environment, whether they were happy or not. Riku was playing cards with Irvine, Leon and Aerith were snuggled up in bed, Cloud and Tifa had tucked in the kids and passed out on one of the play mats, Larxene and Marluxia were on their rounds, and Demyx strummed his guitar because he couldn't sleep without his best friend there. Everyone was safe and sound beside Axel and Sora.

The boss opened the door that led to the stairs they would need to take to reach the basement of the school. A blast of cold air hit the men and they looked at each other in unease.

"Down you go, boys." Seifer grinned from ear to ear and closed the door behind them, sealing them in darkness.