Author's Quickie: The long-awaited conclusion of the battle[between Cloud & Leon, anyway] is finally HERE! Eh, are those trumpets I hear in the foreground? Well, anyway, this is the end. No, not of the fanfic, but of...yeah, okay, right, moving on... I seriously hope some of you don't come torching my house or anything of the like after you read this. And, again...a beautiful, neatly-wrapped...cliffhanger! Mwa, I am so cruel.

As a side-note, thanks for all the feedback! I was incapacitated with fever this week, which was why I couldn't finish this chapter in time. I promise I'll be on schedule

from now on! [I didn't even notice I spelled infernal "inferno"! Gah!] [And I don't really think UltimaMoOgle's fanfic really parodies Project Trinity at all, because it's quite dry humor. I think he was parodying Aerith fics in general.]

Project: Trinity

Chapter Nine: Finders, Keepers.

What is that thing? Aerith wondered in horror, her curiosity struggling vainly with her fear. Have I summoned...a Heartless? She was so confused, so overwhelmed; by now, she no longer doubted that anything could be impossible.

The mythical beast plunged out of the dark shadow, landing onto the marble floor with an explosion-like thud. Rearing back its dark tresses, the part-lion, part-monster emitted a loud roar, shattering the eardrums of everyone within vicinity of the Coliseum.

"The...King of beasts..." Leon panted, gritting his teeth as he propped himself up by the elbows. The grainy sand that was packed into the arena ground rubbed against the sores and cuts on his arms, and it took all his willpower not to break down and cry with fatigue. Hang in there, he screamed at himself. They need you.

Cloud's eyes narrowed considerably as he watched the gigantic monster pace restlessly around the edge of the veil, black breath pouring out in wisps of shadowy smoke. "Griever, huh?" he repeated, recalling what his opponent had shouted out a few moments before. A challenge? But it was not his fight; he would do only the bare minimum, and nothing else, to regain what he had lost. The beast was interfering with his work, but...a shadow of doubt crept into Cloud's mind, and he regarded Griever with suspicion and wariness. How could anyone defeat such a monster?

Griever swiveled its head, shaking his mane of black feather-like hair, its gaze falling upon the girl who was cringing with fright next to one of its paws. As Aerith looked up at the dark eyes of the monster, a connection seemed to float up from her and into the monster. I summoned you? she found herself asking silently.

The beast almost nodded, a comical sort of action coming from a so ferocious-looking thing. Will you help me? she ventured, praying against despair that the Gods had heard her plea. Her finger shot out, aiming straight at the center of the Coliseum, her resolve hardening. "The veil! Break it down!" she ordered, mustering all of her spiritual strength.

Its answer was another ear-splitting howl, and, launching backwards onto its feet, Griever flattened itself down and flames erupted from the deep pits of its fanged mouth. The heat was unbearable; even standing away a few feet, Aerith could feel the temperature skyrocket in the Coliseum from the fire as her summon went about destroying the barrier. Well, she thought with a hysterical giggle, at least they won't be able to fight anymore! She was losing it; her grip on reality seemed to slacken, and she was drifting away, away... Would she let Griever go after she had accomplished...whatever? Did she have to? Couldn't she keep it, like a loyal pet, her only friend, forever and ever? Why should she give that power up? The power to destroy worlds...came only once in a lifetime! Ansem knew what he was doing, Aerith thought knowingly, an odd smile crossing her face.

Boy, did he. She was giddy from the rush of it all; white strands of her magic wrapped around her wrists, digging deep into her tender skin, drawing blood in thin rivulets. But she was giddy; she did not care, did not want to care. So tired...

"Go!" she exhorted to her companion, "Destroy it! Destroy...everything!" Power was hers, hers to keep! With power, who needed anything else? Drunk on it, nothing else could compare. There was no reason to fall victim to the woes of love when one could seize power and reign forever, a Queen among the damned. "Destroy!" Aerith started laughing, laughing as the flames collided with the shimmering, twinkling curtain.

* * *

First earthquakes and now a fire? Leon was stunned to imbecility. What was happening? The ground rumbled, hurling chunks of rocks across the arena in its fury, and beyond the veil the monster was still lurking, belching out great streams of fire.

"Get up!" Cloud muttered as he ungraciously hauled Leon to his feet. Leon would have jumped if he had the strength for it; first Cloud was a pitiless bastard and now he was trying to help? Unsteadily he tottered to his feet, his hand pressed against the gash in his chest. "What is that thing?" Cloud asked, his fierce gaze pinned to the unassailable monster.

"A...summon," Leon panted out, his free hand drawing out the pendant chain, where the emblem of his namesake dangled. Curved in a gleaming arc, the lionheart shone a dazzling silver as it struck the sunlight. "Griever...the most powerful guardian

force in all the worlds!"

Cloud cursed vividly, swinging his enormous blade over his shoulder. "Which gives us a pretty good chance of beating it, eh?" he asked sarcastically.

Leon stared at him, his mouth agape. "It's not a heartless," he snapped, gritting his teeth as more blood gushed through his fingers. "You can't just give it a good whack or two and think that it will evaporate into dust. A monster like that will keep coming after you, even after it's dead." He dragged his gaze up to where the Griever was still unleashing his attack, the veil temporarily withstanding the brunt of the flames.

"If this keeps up," Cloud spoke up, voicing Leon's fear, "that shield will break." He grinned sardonically as he met his eyes. "And then we'll be burnt to a crispy fritter."

"Great," Leon groaned, his knees sagging, "Do you have a death wish or something? You seem rather happy about that."

"No," answered Cloud calmly, his glance unfaltering as he eyed Griever, "It's just that I have no more reason to live on."

A twinge of guilt vibrated in his chest as he looked at Cloud's stoic figure. Should he tell him that maybe all was not lost? But Aerith... Leon sighed and clapped a weak hand on Cloud's broad shoulder. "Perfect. Save the morbid stories for later; right now, we need to figure out if there will be a later."

"Where did it come from?" Cloud asked him, folding up his one wing so that it took up less space and therefore helped him regain his balance.

"I...don't really know," Leon confessed, running a hand over his sweaty face. "Someone must have summoned it. But who?" he questioned aloud, before a severe cough had him doubling over in pain.

Cloud waited for the effects of the cough to pass before stating mildly, "You're coughing up blood."

He grinned sarcastically, wiping it away with his sleeve. "You hit hard."

"Yeah. People tell me that," Cloud replied, idly wiping away the flecks of blood from his sword. What's wrong with this guy? Leon wondered. It wasn't that Cloud lacked a human side...it was just that it was an offbeat, unused, bizarre one. It was as if Cloud wasn't accustomed to using it, and so had let it wither and shrink until it could hardly be seen anymore. Odd. But then, isn't that what you did too? Leon rebuked himself silently. Isn't that how you treated life until Aerith came along?

He sighed and leant on his gunblade, forcing himself to refocus. "Someone must have summoned Griever. Someone with a lot of innate power, because it's nearly impossible to command him. Griever's...hard to handle, and he's been called for evil too many times." Something sent his brain skittering into mental overdrive.

"But why would anyone want to summon him? There isn't any logical reason." Cloud scowled deeply as he watched the attack, patience being one of his weaker attributes. "Why in the world would anyone care about stopping the fight?"

Leon almost howled as he stumbled to his feet, his eyes glinting with a fiery madness. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" he yelled at himself, wanting to bang his head on the wall. "Of course, I'm such an idiot," he said sadly, gripping his painful chest.

"Care to share?" Cloud asked icily.

"Why bother," Leon sighed, sinking to his knees. She'll be corrupted...if she doesn't stop herself in time...she'll destroy all of us...or else destroy herself. The thought of Aerith, gentle, laughing Aerith... No. There has to be a way. "You know, in your heart, who summoned Griever. Think for yourself, Cloud."

"What kind of cryptic answer is that?" he asked in irritation. "How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"Think," Leon replied simply. He wasn't willing to say her name. That would be his to keep... "Who would do anything for you, just as you would do anything for them...?"

"If you think..." Cloud began, his anger starting to erupt. But then he took a good look at his adversary's face and saw unexplainable tension embedded in the simple youthful good looks and the reckless scar that marred them. Who would I do anything for? That's easy... he thought harshly to himself, Who did I give up my humanity for, anyway? His eyes widened, tensed, twitched erratically as Leon's words found a target. "You're lying. She couldn't be here."

Leon smiled grimly at the irony. Shifting his weight from his one unbruised leg, he tottered closer to where Griever was standing. "Ah, but I said that before, didn't I?" he called over his shoulder, his voice seeming to fade away as he stumbled onwards. "You just didn't listen."

"No!" His scream was a desperate one, one that broke all the barriers he had placed in front of his heart. Don't say it... Don't say she saw me at my worst, when all I wanted for her was the best... Cloud whipped his head around, a look of absolute fear and agony frozen in place on his face.

"AERITH!"

* * *

Ending notes: Okay, okay, so the battle, in reality, is still going on, but the focus has shifted. The next chapter, though, will have an ending. Not for the fanfic, but...an ending. Let's just keep it a surprise for now, okay?