Title/ Every Strife Needs a Leonhart

Summary/ When life begins to become too difficult, people often go crazy or turn to suicide. When two girls lose everything they had, fate brings them together, intertwining not only their destinies but the destinies of those around them. AU. Squall/Oc, Cloud/Oc, mild Riku/Sora.

Authoress/ Shimmer Of Solitude (The works of authoresses Shimmering Solitude and Shimmer of an Angel)

Disclaimer/ Nope. Nada. Never. I can wish all I want but it's not happening.

Note/ Yay! We FINALLY got around to writing this! This is going to be a collaborative story and frankly Shay-chan will be doing most of the writing. It's kind of like I give her the ideas for the chapter and she writes it and we work together… but oh well. ENJOY!

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Prologue: Intertwined Destinies

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I open my eyes
I try to see but I'm blinded by the white light
I can't remember how
I can't remember why
I'm lying here tonight
And I can't stand the pain
And I can't make it go away
No I can't stand the pain

-

The sound of falling rain hitting the pavement mingled with the ragged breaths of a teenage girl, each breath taken as if her last, as she raced down the dark streets of Destiny Drive. Her bare feet struck the slippery ground as she ran, her long ebony hair whipping behind her. Her denim jeans and black t-shirt were already soaked through from the, now, pouring rain, the fabric tugging at her body, emphasizing her lithe figure.

"Shay!" Sora Strife, the girl's younger brother, called out from the doorway of the Strife residence, his sapphire eyes flashing nervously. He knew that his sister's emotions were unstable after...that happened but he really didn't' know what to do in the case of her bolting from home. "Cloud!" He yelled, his voice cracking slightly, as he ran back inside, calling out for his older brother. "She's bolted!"

Ignoring her brother's plea, Shay continued running down the road, silent tears of pain and remembrance streaming from her chocolate brown eyes, mixing with the salty rain.

-

How could this happen to me
I've made my mistakes
Got no where to run
The night goes on
As I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me

-

'He can't help me! He's useless! No one can help-!' Shay though angrily as she stumbled over a loose rock, falling on the wet cement, scraping and bruising her arms and legs. Streams of crimson blood began to flow from the wounds, immediately being washed away by the rain.

'Oh god...why did this happen to me? Why?' She thought bitterly, looking down at her bloodied palms. She felt so cold and lifeless...as if her body was dead but her soul still watched behind her glazed eyes.

"Why me?" Shay whispered her voice full of despair and hopelessness. "WHY!"

Under the same darkened sky, another teenage girl articulated the exact same words.

"Why me?" A soft whisper came from the teen as she leaned on the old guard rails of a wooden bridge, a steady flowing river rushed under her pale feet. Her silvery blue hair whipped around in the harsh wind, flashing brightly as the soft rays of moonlight touched them.

'Ericka...Erika dear...'

"Is it my name? Is it because I'm Erika that I'm being punished so?" She asked, laughing slightly.

'Why are you running away?'

Erika's eyes narrowed as the voice of her mother became louder. "I'm not running!" She yelled with distaste.

'My dear...it's alright if you're scared...'

"I'm not scared! JUST SHUT UP!" Erika hollered into the night, covering her ears with her hands. Under the light of the moon, crimson blood shimmered on both her wrists streaming down her arms, falling into the watery depths below.

As drops of blood fell into the water below, mixing into it, Erika became aware of the warm, sticky liquid that was now seeping into her clothes. Silently, she removed her hands from her ears and examined them. Ericka stared for a moment at her wrists and smiled bitterly, at the very core of the blood were two identical slits. Suicide was her only escape...wasn't it?

'WHY!'

Erika stumbled backwards as the sound of the scream reached her ears. She looked around wildly, searching for the voice's owner but found no one. As she took a step forward she slipped in the pools of her own blood. The teen knocked into the rotting guard rails which snapped from the collision, sending her into the watery oblivion below.

As she fell, her silver eyes closed and an image of a rain soaked ebony haired teen filled her mind.

-
Everybody's screaming
I try to make a sound but no one hears me
I'm slipping off the edge
I'm hanging by a thread
I wanna start this over again

-

The girl in her vision was crying, her legs sprawled under her, as the rain poured down on her. Bloodied rain water pooled around her as she cried, even more blood, coming from the cuts on her body, mixed in to it. She looked pathetic, back slumped, arms limp at her side, head bowed almost as if she was praying to the gods in bitter remorse.

'Shay!'

"Shay! Daijoubu desu kaa?" Cloud Strife yelled in concern as he ran towards the fallen teen, Sora following closely behind him. His blonde hair was matted against his head from the rain, and his blue eyes displayed his deep concern for his sister.

Shay laughed hollowly from her position on the ground. "Why did you come?" She asked in a slightly hysterical voice. She looked up just as Cloud skidded to a stop just in front of her.

Cloud gasped as he noticed all the blood that flowed from her body. "What the hell did you do to yourself?" He demanded, collapsing to his knees

"I tripped! Are you happy now? Maybe I'll die from it! Or are you angry because I'm still alive?" She asked, in the same hysterical voice.

"Don't...say that." Cloud said weakly. "We want you alive Shay."

"Really?" Shay asked in amusement. "They didn't want me! They both abandoned me!"

"Forget them!" Cloud yelled and pulled the girl into a loving embrace. "We won't leave you. I won't leave you."

"Yeah. We'd never leave you." Sora said from his position beside Cloud, he too had kneeled down by Shay.

A fresh wave of tears emerged from Shay's eyes as she buried her face into Cloud's chest.

-

So I try to hold onto a time when nothing mattered
And I can't explain what happened
And I can't erase the things that I've done
No I can't

-

"We would never leave you." Cloud murmured as he began to stroke Shay's back comfortingly, as she continued to sob. "We will never leave."

'How lucky...'

Shay lifted her head from Cloud's chest and looked towards the sky. She could feel someone's eyes watching her. And just then...someone's broken voice.

Ericka opened her eyes just as the soft pitters of rain began to fall. She had washed ashore after her fall from the bridge; her wrists were still bleeding, the crimson liquid mixing into the river water that lapped at her sides. 'So that girl is alright...' She though fleetingly.

'Don't die on me.' The girl from her vision whispered to her, the blonde haired boy still had his arms around her in a loving embrace.

'I don't want to be alone.' Ericka said to the girl.

'I'm here.' The girl responded.

'I don't want to be alone...' Ericka repeated. 'Please! Come find me!'

'I promise...I'll find you.' The girl whispered sincerely, reaching a bloodied hand to the sky, the hand appeared in front of Ericka as if the girl from her vision was standing beside her. The astral image of the girl's hand seemed to be so close...so solid as if she could grab it.

-

How could this happen to me
I've made my mistakes
Got no where to run
The night goes on
As I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me

-

'Thank you...' Ericka murmured as the hand enclosed over her own bloodied wrists, pulling her up from the river bed.

"Did you find her Squall?" A silver haired boy, named Riku, called out from the bridge. "Did you find Onee-chan?"

"I found her." Squall replied, pulling the unconscious Ericka into his arms, gazing down at her body.

"Squall?" Riku inquired after a moment's pause. "Are you alright?"

"Hai...I just though I saw...never mind. Let's get Ericka home." Squall said.

-
I've made my mistakes
Got no where to run
The night goes on
As I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me

-

Note/ Shay-chan wrote this. I, like I said earlier, outlined it and she wrote it and gave it her own ideas. I gotta hand it to her, she kicks butt.