After much time of putting this off, chapter three has finally been finished. Read, review, and enjoy.

"Well, you definitely could have taken that better."

He was getting sick and tired of this 'waking up and not knowing where the fuck he was at' thing. It got rather wearisome after the first several times, when he had initially began his escape from the Shin-Ra what seemed like ages ago and had been running, blind, through the streets, sleeping wherever he saw fit and wherever would provide shelter.

Or at least give him a place to hide. He never said that it had to have a roof over his head, and most of the time, the only place he could find would be the nook beneath the stairs of an abandoned apartment, where he could curl amongst discarded mattresses and whatnot for some form of security.

There had been an occasion, if he could remember correctly, where he had been forced to sleep at the base of some person's porch, curled beneath the awning and hoping that the icy, polluted rain would let up and give him a chance to run for some other form of shelter. Just thinking about it made him shiver, and he curled into the warm softness that was pooled around him and spread over his chest, his face burying into the soft cushion pressed against his cheeks with a sigh of content.

And then it hit him.

This time was different. The normal chill of the twilight air was absent, and instead, the scratchy warmth of a thin blanket was entangled around his body, providing him with comfort and security that the bare outdoors could not. Absently he wondered where he was at, and how the hell he had wound up there. It was never a good sign to wake up in a place that he couldn't recognize – he had learned this through personal experience several times after his escape from the Shin-Ra's hold – and he couldn't help but let a small flicker of thick metallic worry rest in his stomach, the tang of copper pennies resting on his tongue.

… It was surprising. You'd do the same.

"Yeah, well, you didn't have to pass out, you know. He probably freaked out or something."

And why would he?

He needed to wake up. The first step of taking in his surroundings and his planning out his next course of action was to get his eyes open, regardless of how hard that seemed to be to accomplish at the moment. The dim pain stabbing at the backs of his eyelids and sending needles of soreness shooting through his skull seemed to agree with this idea, and he cursed under his breath in sheer agitation at this entire situation. He wasn't happy, he was lost, his head felt like it had been hit by a bag of bricks at least twice in the past three days, and there was a damn ray of sunlight pouring in through the window and straight into the backs of his eyelids.

"Whoever the hell left the blind open is gonna . . ." His voice trailed off halfway through his threat, the words dying from his lips as the sleep slowly slithered away from him like a curtain of water, Mako blue eyes snapping open and taking in a bright glare of sunlight.

Sunlight.

Not the artificial lights of Midgar or the searing, bright lights that the Shin-Ra Company poured over the slums and into the edges of Twilight Town in an effort to create a brief sense of normality for the people, even if they were destined to be in the darkness.

Actual sunlight. From the sun that he had thought he would never see again. This had to have been the first time that he had actually seen the sunlight in years, to be perfectly honest, and he cast a longing glance toward the source of that light, soaking in the sight of it and the heat of it as if he couldn't get enough. It was a thickly blanketed, polluted sunlight, sure, heavy with the dark clouds of industry that Shin-Ra and Mako energy discharged into the sky, but at least it was sunlight. He relished that fact, basking in its natural warmth for a few moments. The logical part of his brain tried to connect the sunlight to a time and date in his past, when he had last seen those bright rays and experienced that pure warmth, but to no avail.

All he could really come up with was that it was nice to feel the sun again, after being in hiding for so long, covered in the veil of night to hide from them for a crime that he hadn't done.

"You know that's not true."

A groan worked from his dry lips as he squirmed in the bed, forcing the sheets off of his form with a swing of his arm and a quick kick, the crumpled blankets falling to the floor in with a soft thump of noise. That was twice, twice, in one day that he had passed out from something or another, and he growled under his breath at that notion. That man probably thought he was an idiot, or weak, or whatever the hell it was that someone like him thought.

It didn't matter. At the current moment, Cloud was a little too occupied with the throbbing pain piercing at the back of his skull to really care about what whatever his name was thought of him. A groan was given from his lips as he moved, slowly so as to keep the pain to a minimum, around the edge of the bed, his legs swinging over the side as his right hand rubbed his eyes free of sleep before casting a curious glance around the perimeter.

The room was a shabby place in general, to tell the truth. Apart from the bed that he was currently on, there was little else of importance scattered throughout the room, and an undersized dresser off to one side, the drawers closed and properly packed despite its age (the man was more than likely a neat-freak, Cloud noted), a matching wood nightstand at his left side, beside the bed, and a single mirror, cracked in a network of patterns from Planet only knew how many years of use, were the only other decorations. Shaggy carpeting lined the floor, what Cloud could only assume to be a once white plush surface now mated and turned a sickly shade of gray, the walls faded in perfect monotony to match.

He snorted. Overall, the room appeared as if it were hardly made for any real living purposes; a fractured window gave him a morphed glance at the town below and the sun as it battled with the pollution to light the twilight corners of the town. The midlevels of buildings were visible in his view of the city, and a small smile worked onto his lips as he nodded at that. It wasn't too high up, then, and if worse came to worse, he could always jump out of this window like he had the last and hope that there was something a little bit softer to land on than concrete.

The phantom pain in his ribs seemed to disagree with this plan, however, and Cloud groaned low in his chest, his hand moving from his side to press lightly against his torso to group for the injuries that he knew should be there.

Only to find none his chest free of blemishes or any hints of broken bones, the blonde blinking in confusion as he slipped his hand along the contours of his chest in search of the damage that had been done. A confused frown turned the corners of his thin mouth downward, a single eyebrow lifting in question as he ran his fingers over his healed chest with a brief flicker of curiosity and amusement mixing in his glowing eyes.

Ah, that was right. That man had healed the wounds in his chest and the gashes littering his body, washing away the stinging pain that would have been present if he hadn't been cared for. That didn't answer the question of his hand, however, and he tensed said appendage in the sheets of the bed in apprehension and slight fear.

"Come on, Spike, just look at it. You're gonna have to face it soon anyway."

Mako blue eyes darted down toward his left hand, taking in the sight with a new viewpoint, one much less panicked and scattered, from last night. Now that he looked at it, there was something fascinating about the golden tips and the ebon fingers, his brow furrowing in deep concentration as he tested the movement in his hand, as if to make sure that the sudden transformation hadn't tampered with his ability to move his digits properly.

He still had a full range of movement. That was all that was important.

Cloud ran a hand through his hair as he let the whole situation sink into his mind in its own sluggish pace, a sigh working from his lips as he flopped backward onto the bed once again. He was in some strange man's apartment, with no possible way of escape, had no clean clothing or weapons to use, had a Planet damned claw for a hand, and had no idea where in the hell he really was in relation to where he was going. And to top it all off, knowing the Shin-Ra, they hadn't given up on the search for his whereabouts and the mission to retrieve him and drag him back to those sterile labs and prodding questions.

Perfect. Things were just perfect.

Can this possibly get any worse?

"Leon! Think-"

Well, shit. A part of his mind laughed at him, dark and filled with some twisted amusement at his plight, and he shoved it away with a forceful shake of his head. He really shouldn't have said anything, should he have? Lady luck just didn't seem to want to agree with him recently.

"-about it! He's a criminal. A wanted criminal, charged with murder and theft and only Hyne knows what else, and people are searching for him all the way over in Midgar and out to the edges of Traverse Town!"

The shout exploding throughout the apartment caused him to blink in surprise, Cloud running the voice over in his mind to dig out the memories of last night that were still blanketed in the warmth of his slumber. That voice was different than the one he had heard when he had first awoken; he really didn't remember that man sounding like a fourteen-year-old boy. Tightening his hands in the sheets beneath him he pushed himself to his feet, struggling to get his bearing straight as he crept over to the doorway as silently as he could, the only sound that came from him being the soft puff of his own breath and the padding sound of his feet against cushiony carpet. He pressed his body tight against the wall – it was times like these that he was thankful for all of the creeping that he had done during his escape from Shin-Ra, and for the experience that he had learned – his head inclined at an angle to get a look through the slim crack and into the narrow hallway beyond.

The hall was free of any and all people, and he let out the breath that he had been holding in anticipation at his realization, his body relaxing a little more now that he knew that the owners of the voices weren't close to his position. Now he could eavesdrop without the risk of being caught. Pressing closer to the wall, with his ear against the opening of the door, he frowned, picking up the bits and pieces of the conversation that were now clearer to him.

Well, at least he could pick up on the other side of the conversation now.

"Sora. Shut up."

That's the guy from last night. How he remembered the man's voice and not his name, he couldn't really say. A part of him had just seemed to know it instantly, as strange as it sounded.

"Dammit all, Leon! We're going to get arrested; all because you finally decided to be the nice guy and give someone that you've never even seen before a place to stay for the night. I was happy, sure, I mean, my asshole of a brother finally decided to show some compassion, but what happens when he does?" There was a pause here, as if the younger voice was waiting for some answer to his accusation, Cloud finding this all too amusing to pass up.

A brother? So that guy had a brother?

"I thought he was a single child."

"He turns out to be a criminal! Leon, if this is what happens when you're nice, I think I like you as a bastard better. How the hell do you expect to get us out of this one? We've used every other excuse there possibly is with the military just trying to explain our other little 'incidents.'"

Wanted criminal…? If that boy knew that he was a wanted criminal, and was telling Leon, then –

Shit.

He had to resist any and all temptations that were currently rising in him to slam his head against the wall in frustration and at his own stupidity. He shouldn't have believed that it was just the opportunity of someone being nice, that he was finally finding some kind of compassion in this damned situation. Apparently he had been wrong in guessing that Leon hadn't noticed all of the ads on the radio broadcasts about his capture and the murder he had allegedly committed. Knowing his luck, the man had just taken him in and cared for his grievances so he could hand him over to the military for whatever reward they had decided to slap on top of his pretty blonde head. And judging by the place that Leon lived in, he could really use that reward.

Whatever the hell he wanted him for, he wasn't about to stick around and find out. Friend or foe, there was no real reason for him to stay; his injuries had been healed and he had been handed his first opportunity to get a good night's rest in a warm, albeit slightly uncomfortable, bed (or in any bed, for that matter) since his escape. His only available option was to leave before they decided to see if their 'bounty' had finally woken up. He didn't even want to think about what the Shin-Ra would do if they were to catch him again, after so long of finally being freed from their grasp, and he hissed, low and feral, under his breath.

Tearing his attention away from the door he pushed against the wall with his right hand, using it for leverage to get his balance with a little difficultly and a grunt. So he was still a tad sore, and every inch of his body insisted that he stay here and curl back up into that bed for another day's worth of sleep. He didn't have time to rest here with these people knowing about his criminal record, though, and something told him it would be even worse for his health in the long run to remain here than a few nights of no sleep and another day of starving on the streets.

Now, all he had to do was find a way to escape that didn't involve any more broken ribs or fractured arms…

Casting a quick glance around the room he moved back to the bed, bending over beside it with a hiss of pain and picking up his heavy military boots from adjacent to the nightstand. He could just break the window, climb out, and pray to the Lifestream that he didn't rupture his leg when he fell. It might hurt, but at least he'd get away from these people before they really did call the military on him and send in the retrieval unit. He really didn't want to go through that scenario again.

"Last time, you barely made it out of there alive. I was afraid you weren't gonna make it."

Come to think of it, what had happened that time? He couldn't really remember it. A mass of bodies squirming to run from something, something glowing red and orange and hot, but other than that…

It was blank.

Whatever it was, it couldn't be that important. What was important, however, was getting the hell out of this room and away from this apartment before Leon found out that he was awake. Turning away from the bed he moved, cautious and in hopes that the others in the house wouldn't hear his footsteps, and made his way across the room, to the window. Dark blue eyes scanned up and down the thin pane, the blonde taking a deep breath. If he got lucky, then he could break it as fast as possible and jump out before the shattering of glass alerted Leon that he had even left.

It was just lucky for him that he could run pretty damn fast. Let's just hope that he can't run as fast as me.

"There's no time for doubting yourself. If you doubt yourself, then you won't be able to do it."

I've heard that before.

Shaking his head and clearing any and all doubts that he might have he tightened his grip on his boot – well, they were heavy enough to slow him down during running, they had to be heavy enough to break this flimsy glass. He cast a small glance over his shoulder and toward the door, scouting for any sign of someone that might have already heard him –

Only to come face to face with one frowning brunette, the man's arms crossed over his chest and his light gray-blue eyes focused on Cloud in a manner that reminded him of an adult scolding a child after said child was caught doing something terribly wrong.

He instantly hated that look.

"Mornin.'" He grinned, turning away from the window and giving the man an irate glare. "So… what's for breakfast?" It was the only thing that came to mind, and he kicked himself for it. If his mouth was going to work without his brain, then it could at least come up with something intelligent for once. Despite his offhanded attempt at conversation, it was obvious to him that Leon knew what he had been doing, and Cloud dropped the boot with a soft thud of defeat. There was nothing he could do but ride this out now.

Unless, of course, he knocked Leon unconscious with that lamp over on the nightstand and –

"I could hear your footsteps." Oh. So that was it? Personally, he had thought that he had been rather quiet compared to what he normally was, and a soft frown creased Cloud's features at the brunette.

Either his skills were slipping, or this man was more than just your conventional, everyday slums inhabitant.

Cloud took the opportunity of silence to get a good look at the other man for the first time since he had met him, eyes soaking in every detail with great interest. The man was, by all means, more than your average person. Tight fitting blue jeans, torn and faded from years of use and abuse, clung to every contour of his long legs, showing off well-built muscles and the obvious signs of someone that did more than just bum around the slums for money. His build reminded him of the people that he used to see in SOLDIER, while he had been in Shin-Ra, as a matter of fact, and he grazed his eyes further up. A semi-loose, black t-shirt, loose enough to drape around his body, but still tight enough to show over the form of his torso, hung over his equally chiseled upper half, Cloud grinning a little at the sight presented before him. Not bad.

At least some creepy, perverted fat pimp off the streets hadn't found him, like that one time.

Traveling his gaze upward Cloud memorized each and every detail of Leon's face, a curious scowl slipping onto his lips as his gaze came to rest between narrowed gray eyes. A ragged scar, rough and red against the lightly tanned skin of his face, ran from the middle of his forehead and down, diagonally, beneath his left eye, stopping right at the bridge of his nose.

Now that he looked closer, everything about Leon was rough in some way, from his choppy auburn hair to his set jaw and chiseled stone mask, concealing away his emotions and giving him the look of a marble statue rather than a person.

Inattentively Cloud wondered if this guy ever smiledlet alone laughed. From the looks of things, he hadn't done either in a long time.

"Reminds me of someone else."

Who?

"Come on, you can't tell me that you don't remember."

"… Whatever." The silence that had fallen between them without Cloud even realizing it was shattered as Leon thrust his hand out toward the blonde, a mound of new clothing and a towel hanging over his forearm in a peace offering, even if it was just temporary. "Here. Go take a shower," he tilted his head over his shoulder, indicating toward a door to the left of the other that had gone unnoticed until now, "and then come out in the living room."

Cloud watched him warily for a moment, as if waiting for some trick or betrayal to occur.

Nothing happened.

"… Yeah. Thanks, I guess." Without another word he took the clothing from Leon, a slender, golden eyebrow lifting in confusion as the brunette gave a concise nod and turned for the door. If Leon knew that he was a criminal, why hadn't he mentioned anything about it? It was obvious that the other voice – Planet forbid the day he met the person who owned that voice – had known about it, and had told Leon, but . . .

"Why are you helping me?"

Leon paused, his back to Cloud and his body going rigid at that inquiry, before he continued forward with a tense shrug of his shoulders, the door shutting with a soft click as he left just as silently as he had come.

"Does this guy own anything that's not form-fitting?"

Cloud rolled his eyes as he examined his reflection in the fog-coated mirror of Leon's bathroom, the air filled with the mist of his shower and his image morphed by the dew covering the glass before him. Leaning over the sink with a grunt he wiped the mirror clean with his palm, presenting himself with a clear picture of the clothing he had been handed and what the wear and tear of his escape had caused on him.

He had to admit, he looked better now than he had before hand. Before he had bathed, his face had been coated in a thin layer of dirt and dried sweat, his naturally pallid skin a darker shade of almost brown from the mess that had accumulated on him through his adventure in the slums (to be perfectly honest, he wasn't too keen on knowing what half of that was that had been covering him, and he was happy to just call it 'dirt'). Dried blood had been caked onto his flesh where he had been injured sometime during the long nights, and his clothing had been in such a state of disrepair that he had had no other choice but to wear the garments that had been handed to him.

Which was the current problem.

"They hardly fit, dammit." He snorted, running a hand through his damp hair, brushing the limp strands away from his face as he took to examining the outfit closer. Leather pants, almost too tight to fit comfortably, but just baggy enough to remain adequate, hugged his hips perfectly (he was surprised when they had shared the same size clothing). They hung low on his hipbones, providing a view of his abs and the jutting corners of his form, and the cloth flared out at the bottom, drapes brushing over the top of his bare feet as he moved about the bathroom and spun his image to get a good look at his back.

He paused as he turned, mouth tightening in concentration and confusion.

A long, crimson mark ran in a jagged line across his left shoulder blade, the slash a sharp contrast to his deathly pale flesh and standing out a little too obviously for his comfort. His brow furrowed as he reached a tentative hand over his shoulder, running a slender finger up the scratch and shuttering at the numb sensation that followed. It almost felt nice, in a way, the feeling of his own touch along the sensitive skin providing the spot with a cooling sensation just enough to ease the dim sting that lingered there.

Strange. He didn't remember ever being cut on his shoulder.

He shook his head as he turned back around again, facing the mirror head on and giving it a long glance, staring into the eyes of his own reflection in thought.

Why was Leon helping him? It wasn't like there was anything in it for the brunette, and the more he assisted Cloud, the deeper into the web of Shin-Ra and the military that he worked himself.

Then again, there was something odd about Leon. Something different that just struck Cloud as familiar and new all at one time. He couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was, however, and a frustrated growl was given as he tore a hand through his hair once more, brushing out the knots and pulling his hair straight down over his shoulders with a jerk of his fingers.

He'd just have to observe the elder man for a while longer and figure out what it was that was nagging at the back of his skull. There was something there, he knew it, but as to what it was…

He really couldn't place it.

"How did you end up in the alleyway?" The conversation had progressed like this for some time now. Leon would ask a question, cold, gray eyes focused solely on Cloud's face, and Cloud would respond to the best of his knowledge, reciting what had happened to lead to where they were currently at now. He frowned as the inquiry was shot in his direction, the blonde rolling back on the legs of the chair before leaning forward again, his elbows coming to rest on the dinner table that was placed between them both.

How did he end up in the alley?

It was a good question. He wasn't all that sure himself.

Glowing, blue eyes shot down toward the plate that was resting before him, staring absently at what remained of the meal that he had been provided with after his shower. He had been hungry, not having had a good meal - in other words, something that wasn't stolen off of a nearby shelf or cart – in nearly a week, and to finally have the opportunity for one had been even better than the change of clothing.

"You're getting off topic now."

"You know, I'm not sure…" Cloud tore his gaze away from the plate, his eyes coming to lock with the icy stare of the man before him as he shook his head, more to himself than anything else. "I just remember running from those guys – you know, the retrieval unit – and being backed into an alleyway." Then what had happened?

"You got into a fight again. Just like you always do."

"There was a fight." He chuckled, a smirk creeping onto his lips as he leaned back into the chair, arms folding over his chest as he glanced down at the floor before up to the ceiling in his normal habit when he thought. "I guess I got my ass kicked, and ended up passing out."

"Then why didn't he take you back?" Leon's dark eyebrow rose skeptically and he groaned, leaning forward once more and pressing his head into his hands, frowning against his palms.

Why didn't that guy take him back? If he had been unconscious, then it would have been easy enough for him to be taken into custody and forced back to the Shin-Ra.

"It was because you scared that guy off, remember? He was afraid to stay, and he ran."

"Something happened that scared him off."

Cold metal pressing to his face and tugging at the strands of his hair caught his attention, and he opened his eyes to peer at the fingers that were holding his head up.

The claw. That's what had happened. He had been attacked by some… thing in the alleyway, and had been given this claw as a result.

"There was something else in the alley. Something in the shadows." Cloud gave a small blink of surprise as Leon leaned forward, suddenly intrigued by what was being said, his stoic mask falling away to a visage of interest and something much more subtle (was that a flicker of worry?) as Cloud continued with his recitation. The blonde pulled his face away from his hands, giving Leon a quick glance before looking down to the claw now resting in his lap.

"What did it look like?"

'What did it look like?' Why would Leon want to know?

"It was black, with bright eyes… It looked more like a… puddle than anything else. It didn't really have a form." Cloud grumbled, shaking his head and grimacing as he tried to pull the image from his mind. "I'm not sure; I didn't get a good look at it, but it was… strange. Like it wasn't from this world. There was something about it that just made it seem so surreal." He laughed coldly, giving Leon a skeptic look of concern and amusement. "You don't believe me, do you?"

It may sound crazy, and Cloud knew it, but it was the truth. The creature that had attacked him, that had crawled beneath his skin, had been more than just your average monster or nightly phantom. There was an ethereal chill to the beast. No other creature had ever caused such a sense of hopelessness and emptiness to fill his being by just simply gazing at it.

Something told him that he wasn't going to be forgetting that sensation any time soon. It was branded into his minds eyes, into the phantom pain in his nerves. There was just something about that creature…

"… And it stayed in the shadows?"

Leon seemed to know more about this than Cloud had credited him with, and the cold voice pulled him from his private thoughts to come face to face with the curious look spreading over the warrior's tanned features.

"Yeah. Why? I was in pain, so I might have just imagined it, but…" Again he found his gaze shooting toward that cursed thing on his hand, his eyes narrowing as he pulled it out from under the table to show to Leon, "me imagining it doesn't explain why I have this, nor does it explain where it came from." Leon nodded in approval, a dark look of thought crossing his face as he watched the claw with fascination for a moment longer, studying every detail of it and storing it into his memory for future reference.

Cloud shifted, uncomfortable under that scrutinizing gaze, his teeth creeping over his bottom lip and biting down in a nervous habit that he had picked up as a small child all those years ago. Funny, how things like habitual acts remained, yet he couldn't even remember the name of the place that he had grown up in or the faces of he people that had cared for him.

Much to Cloud's relief, Leon finally tore his gaze away from the blonde's hand, his piercing eyes shifting now to Cloud's face with the promise of more questions yet to come. He sighed a little at that aspect, and briefly wondered if he was going to be able to get a moment of peace to himself with Leon asking him everything from 'what is your name' to 'what did you do last night before I found you.'

They were respectable questions, he supposed, but it didn't change the fact that it was annoying, and that he was tired from his first large meal in some time, and would much rather crawl back into that little room and –

"Is there anything else? Did you see anything or hear anything when it happened?"

"No." The answer came out more rapidly than he would have liked, his voice rushed and hurried as he shook his head to emphasize his point. Leon didn't need to know about that part of what had happened; at least, not yet. The voice that he had heard that night still stayed fresh in his mind, and he shrugged it off with a shiver down his spine and a graceful arching of his shoulders.

It wasn't important, was it? It was more than likely just his imagination or the daze of pain playing tricks with his mind, making him hear these things that weren't really there and remember people that were long since dead and gone.

That was all that it was. It was nothing more, nothing less; just something that his mind had worked up in its delirious state and from the pain that had been racking through his body.

Somehow, he was having a hard time convincing himself, even after repeating it over and over again.

An awkward silence had fallen between them, Cloud only realizing it when it was shattered by the sound of a chair scraping against the kitchen tile and Leon's boots hitting the floor in a steady beat as he stepped toward the doorway of the apartment. Blinking in surprise, Cloud scrambled to get to his feet as well, the blonde spinning around and staring, dumbfounded, at the elder man.

"Where are you going?" A cold glare and a small shrug answered him, Leon tugging his leather jacket from the rack beside the door and pulling it on, his back to Cloud as he spoke.

"I need to visit someone. Stay here and rest; Sora should be home soon."

And with that, the door was shut, leaving Cloud to stare at the corroded wood with questions swimming in his mind and a frown creasing his full lips.

This chapter had more of a lighter air to it than the previous two chapters, and was more of a filler chapter and an opportunity for me to open up key plot points that will come into effect as the story progresses. Updates should occur more frequently, and if not, I give permission for someone to slap me. Review if you have any constructive comments to toss out at me, please.