Yow! I spent half my Thanksgiving vacation cramming this out for you guys. Sheesh. I think I love my reviewers too much. I tried my best in making this longer, so I hope you enjoy! Also, I think readers made a BIG mistake: back in the last chapter I placed an endnote; what I wanted people whose names I listed was to leave their e-mail in a review so I could e-mail the new story to them. Please do so now! Thanks.

Disclaimer: Cut the crap and go on. --;

Project: Trinity

Chapter Five: But it's too close...

Urgently now the shadow monsters grouped around the entrance to the dead end, a mass of writhing black demons frenzied in an effort to withdraw their hearts. Grimly Leon watched them, the blade of his Lionheart glinting in the dim light of the street lamp as he raised it, taunting them to attack.

With what almost seemed a consensual smirk, the Heartless swarmed towards him in a rapid charge. Surely, if it was any weaker, gutless human, he would have bolted. But--and the grip on his gunblade reminded him with steadfast patience--he wouldn't, couldn't let Hallow Bastion replay itself.

A war cry escaped Leon's throat as he ran forward to meet the enemy charge, gunblade flashing in great silver arcs that sliced the monsters into bits. One, two, three--one by one the Heartless fell, exploding into purple-black dust and wisps of dark smoke. One, two, three--there were too many--and he knew in his heart that they would overwhelm him in the end, suck his heart out and leave his body to mingle with the fallen dust.

Behind him, the whir of the gummi ship's engine kicking in rekindled new hope; at the very least, Aerith and Yuffie and Cid would get out alive; they would survive to guide the refugees; they would remain until....until...

While Leon was distracted, a Darkball bashed into his body with the force of a cannonball, knocking him heavily to the ground in a tumbled heap. With an air of glee the rest of the Heartless followed, ready to finish off this meddlesome human forever. Gritting his teeth, Leon parried a blow from a Shadow and raised his hand, calling forth the only magic available to him.

"Fire!" he screamed, spinning off a slew of brightly-lit fireballs from the momentary vortex on his palm. The magic, sent out in waves, eliminated a large portion of the Shadows that had clustered together around him, but for the seasoned veterans of Heartless, well beyond a simple one-two hit, bore the brunt of his fire attack with only a few marks of damage. Exhausted from the extent of using magic, Leon sank back a few steps, his breathing harsh and laborious.

The Heartless were coming out too fast; the Heartless could regenerate without a thought; their world was doomed, just like Hallow Bastion had been doomed so long ago...

The Heartless circled around and around, slowly but with the smugness of knowing that victory was close at hand. "It's over," they seemed to say with their beady glowing eyes. "Your heart belongs to us!" In one final wave they swarmed towards his tired body. As he felt the first pinpricks of pain from the bites on his arms and legs, Leon closed his eyes, consoling himself with the fact that the others had survived. It would make all the difference...

"No!! You won't take him!" A scream tore into the thick night air, and suddenly the temperature seemed to be...cooler. Leon slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring at a huge block of glistening ice, not two inches away from his face. Inside, he could make from the icy blue surface two sharp fangs--a Darkball, encased in the brutal force of a Blizzaga.

Quickly he scrambled backwards as clumsily as his weary limbs would let him. The whole delegation of Heartless, even the floor, was sealed within a vast ice wall. Nor could more Heartless pop out from the ground, since such a strong layer of ice sealed that as well. There was only one person around he knew who had the power to do that.

He turned around, gazing directly into Aerith's blazing green eyes, who was standing a few feet away. She had run back to save him. Though her lips were set in a thin frown, he could tell by the color of her eyes that she had forgiven him. "Hnn....uh....I..." he gasped out in a poor attempt to use his vocal cords, which were non-functioning at the moment. Aerith uncharacteristically rolled her eyes, but an ever so slight smile twisted her lips.
"Come on," she said shortly, walking over to him and grasping his arm, "We have to leave now." Leon groaned as Aerith's fingers, though gentle, touched his bruised skin. "Aaah...Sorry," she said as she realized he was in pain.

Leon smiled wanly and waved her apology away. "It's alright." He winced as he struggled to get up; every part of his body felt like it had been pounded by a sledgehammer. "It hurts like a bitch, but it's alright."

"Don't curse like that," she said with mild disparagement, sighing as she helped heave him up to a standing position.

Leon grinned in that devastating way of his and laughed. "Yes, mom."

He suddenly fell to the ground in a rumpled heap as Aerith let go of him and angrily stalked away into the ship. "Hey!" he called out a little desperately as he sat there helplessly, "I was just kidding, Aerith!"

Aerith poked her head through the door of the gummi ship and stuck out her tongue. "Walk by yourself, you loser."

* * *

"You didn't have to take it so seriously," Leon grumbled as he slumped down onto the seat. After she had made him beg for forgiveness, during which the gummi ship was on the verge of launching into space, she finally threw down a rope ladder and made him crawl up himself.

"Shut up," Aerith replied coolly, bandaging his wounds, "You deserved it."

He could have sworn that she was cutting off his circulation with the gauze bandage on purpose. "I did not." He scowled as he yanked his arm away and gingerly touched it.

"Baka," she muttered as he winced from the pain that shot up his arm. "Don't touch your bruises, unless you want them to get worse." The look Leon gave her would have been enough to mutilate thousands of Heartless.

The door to the cargo hold opened and Yuffie entered, plopping down on a seat across from theirs. "I've counted the refugees," she announced tiredly, jerking her thumb behind her to indicate the cargo area. "We have forty-nine men, women, and children."

Aerith covered her face with her hands, her voice coming out muffled. "Forty-nine out of hundreds..." she said in a strained voice.

"We had no choice." Leon touched her shoulder awkwardly. "It was either forty-nine or nothing."

"I wonder, though, where we're going to take them," Yuffie pondered. "We're lucky enough Cid had such a big gummi ship, but..."

"Displacement." Leon answered broodingly. They looked up at him expectantly as he paced the short length of the room. "We have to find a relatively empty world--or, at least, a relatively big one--where they can stay until...until everything's back to normal."

"Normal." Aerith echoed, a faraway look in her eyes. She let out a soft, cynical laugh. "Right. When everything's back to normal." She buried her head in her hands, fighting to maintain a shred of her composure. Yuffie and Leon exchanged worried glances.

"Aerith?" Yuffie said hesitatingly.

Aerith leaned back into her seat and pressed a hand to her forehead. "How many more of this can we take?" she asked monotonously. "Twice...twice we've watched the same thing happen...worlds destroyed...people killed...The worlds might return to normal after everything is said and done, but the lives...they'll never come back."

"No, they won't," Leon agreed sorrowfully. No, she'll never come back...because she's dead... The pain in his chest intensified. "But we promised each other...that we'd fight until the day peace comes back...so...we can't give up hope yet."

Silence filled the small room as they remembered. Yuffie was the first to stand up and break the emptiness. "I think I'll go check up on the old man...maybe we can find a world near here..."

Aerith and Leon both nodded silently and watched as Yuffie disappeared through the cockpit door. "Your arm..." Aerith said in a terse voice, reaching out to grab it, "I haven't finished bandaging it yet."

Wordlessly he held out his arm, managing to bite back a yell as she poked a bruise. "Hey!" he snapped, gritting his teeth, "Didn't you say you weren't supposed to touch it?"

She smiled with a hint of ...mischievousness? "Don't be a baby," she said, packing away her supplies. Leon only grumbled and slouched lower in his seat, staring out the window. She glanced at him with a mixture of sorrow and joy. It's always both, she thought as she looked at his scowling features. How can he be so strong when everything seems to be falling apart in front of him? Why am I so weak...? I feel like I can't bear another tragedy...that if I do, I'll...fall apart as well.

He must have felt her gaze on him, because he turned to look at her. She flushed and quickly looked down, focusing on putting away the first aid kit. Her hands trembled a little too much and consequently she fumbled with the glass bottles.
"Hey..." Leon said quietly, staring intently at her face. She opened her mouth to respond, but no sound came out. "Look," he whispered, trailing a gentle finger down her cheek. It stung a little, but she was entirely riveted to his eyes. She was drowning in his blue eyes--eyes that reminded her so much of Cloud. "You have a scar..." he murmured as he traced the outline with his finger.

Aerith smiled weakly. "Yeah...I hit the pavement when I fell..." She had to prevent herself from shuddering from his touch; it felt...right. Too right. Remember...Remember Cloud...! she could hear her conscience screaming. I'm not...I'm not doing anything! she protested silently. Leon's a friend.

Leon laughed softly, a uncharacteristic laugh that nonetheless seemed welcome. He touched her scar again. "You'll have it forever, I think."

"I know."

There it was, that smile again. The smile that could make her melt. "Well, I guess it's just one more thing we have in common, then."

"In...common?" she repeated, tentatively raising a hand to touch the scar that ran the length of his face. To her surprise, he didn't flinch, or tell her to go away like he normally would have done. "You've changed, Leon," she said softly.

His voice was rough, as if something--a memory, maybe?--was obstructing his vocal cords. "Haven't we all?"

At the sound of the door opening, they jumped apart, each looking away guiltily, as if they had committed a crime. Although, Aerith told herself firmly, we haven't done anything at all. Nothing. As if in an afterthought, she screwed up her face and added silently, shut up.

Yuffie dashed in, oblivious to the scene that had happened just moments before and chirped happily, "Cid's found a world close by! You can see it! It's right there!"

With her index finger she pointed through the rounded window at the large, bright planet hanging suspended in space. Though it seemed highly populated with numerous houses, one building stood out in particular: a rectangular-shaped arena, with lavish Greek columns buttressing the roof.

Leon grimaced as he stared out the window from his seat. He looked up at the both of them and announced dryly,

"Welcome to Olympus."

* * *

[Is love in the air? I think so! Come on, say awwww! I want to pop the question now, and I'll probably do so again later in the story:]

[Cloud or Leon?]