"Raise and shine, sleeping beauties!" Cid's voice rang. "We're here."

The three children started to stir. Yuffie was leaning over onto Aerith's side, still holding her hand tightly. Aerith had fallen asleep with her head on Squall's shoulder.

"Where's here, Cid?" Aerith mumbled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She placed a hand on Squall's neck to push herself off.

"Traverse Town," Cid grinned. "It's where survivors like us are welcome to stay."

Yuffie let out a huge yawn and stretched. "I'm hungry. What's for breakfast?"

"We don't have any munny," Squall said, stretching his arms.

"Why are you always thinking the worse of things?" Aerith asked, shaking her head.

"I'm only stating what's true," Squall replied coolly, not looking at her.

"Relax," Cid said, getting up and opening the door. "I could sell some of the Gummi Ship's spare parts for some cash."

"Really? You would do that?" Yuffie said, getting off her seat and walking over to him.

Cid grinned as he looked down at the little girl.

"Sure, kid," he said. "I'll even buy you a big red apple for breakfast." Yuffie grinned.

"But first," he said, walking out the door. "Need to fuel up."

Yuffie seemed excited about it, so she ran after Cid.

The two older children were left, and they silently undid their safety gear. Aerith noticed Squall was trying hard not to give her eye contact.

"Squall?" she asked. She placed a hand on his forearm.

Squall got up and flicked her hand off.

"Leave me alone," he muttered coldly. He began walking out without turning back.

Aerith sighed and followed him.

"WHAT?" they heard Cid's voice bellow from a nearby Item Shop. "WHAT D'YOU MEAN YOU DON'T SELL CIGARETTES?!" The two teenagers entered the shop, finding Cid screaming at a small cowering man at the counter. They quickly ran over and pulled Cid off the man when he seemed to be strangling him.

"… Pl-please, sir… I already told you, w-we don't have cigarettes in our world!" the man squeaked. He started backing away.

"THEN WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE ON?!" Cid spat viciously.

"Cid! Please control yourself!" Aerith yelled as Cid tried to pull from their grip. The man felt around the shelf behind him frantically and pulled out a piece of straw. He forced a smile as he held it out.

Cid calmed down and took it from the man. He examined it for a moment.

"What the hell do you think I am?" he snarled. "A FARMER?!" he threw the straw to one side and dived at the man. Aerith and Squall grabbed him just in time. Yuffie walked over and picked up the straw. Squall managed to pull Cid outside. Aerith stayed behind to apologize.

"I'm so sorry, sir," she said. "He's had a long day." She bowed her head to him and walked out.

Squall had subsided onto the wall, his arms crossed across his chest and his eyes closed. Cid was walking around in circles, cursing loudly.

"Cid!" Aerith said, running over and covering Yuffie's ears. "Please! Not in front of Yuffie."

Yuffie pushed Aerith's hands from her ears and smiled up at her.

"It's okay, Aerith." She walked over to Cid and extended the straw to him. She gave him a sweet smile.

"Please, Uncle Cid?" she said. She held the piece of straw up higher.

Cid stared at her for a moment, his hands on his hips. Then he sighed, took the straw and put it in his mouth. Yuffie giggled.

"Come on," he told Aerith and Squall. "I'll take you to your new home."

He turned to Yuffie and took her hand.

"And I'll get you that apple I promised you, kid," Cid told her as they walked off.

Squall got up and walked after them. He bumped into Aerith, making her stumble slightly, but he continued walking as if nothing happened. Aerith frowned at Squall's strange behavior.

"Squall, wait!" she called out. Aerith ran after him. Squall didn't answer.

"Hello?" Cid said as they approached a small house. He went up and looked through the window. Yuffie reached up on her tiptoes next to him and did the same.

"Yes?" a voice behind them said. Cid turned around, but no one was there.

"What the…?" Cid said, scratching his head. Then suddenly, there was a bang and a puff of smoke appeared. Yuffie jumped and ran to hide behind Aerith. An old man appeared through the smoke. He had a long white beard, glasses, a friendly face and blue robes.

"Ah, you must be the new residents," he said in an English accent, looking around at them. "Will you be needing a place to stay?"

"Yeah," Cid said. "But here's the problem. We don't have any munny."

"Oh nonsense," the wizard said cheerfully. "You don't have to pay for anything yet!"

Cid blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yes. Everyone who had escaped their world has gone through a ghastly ordeal. We at Traverse Town don't want to burden you with all the munny at once."

"Well, then," Cid said, grinning. "How about you show us around?"

"Of course, of course," he said. "Oh dear, I haven't even introduced myself." He extended out his hand to Cid. "Merlin the Magician."

Cid shook it. "Cid Highwind." He looked over and pointed at the other three.

"The little one's Yuffie, the girl's Aerith, and the boy—"

"Leon…" Squall interrupted. Everyone except Merlin looked at him, confused.

"A pleasure to meet you all!" Merlin said. "Shall we go?"

"Y-yes," Cid said, not taking his eyes off Squall. "Let's go." He followed Merlin.

Aerith cast a worried look at her friend.

"Squall?" she said. Squall said nothing and walked off.

Aerith felt a tug at her dress. She looked down at Yuffie.

"Why did Squall say his name was Leon?" she asked.

"I don't know," Aerith replied, shaking her head. She took Yuffie's hand and smiled at her.

"We better catch up to them."

They were able to find the right house before sundown. There were enough rooms needed and even a Gummi garage for Cid. Everyone settled in perfectly. Everyone except Squall, who had disappeared into his new room.

Aerith now took the new responsibility as the mother. Being the only girl, she wasn't surprised when Cid told her he couldn't cook.

"From now on," she said. "You're going to get a healthy meal." Aerith made meatloaf for dinner that night, and was pleased how much Cid enjoyed it.

"You should taste her casserole!" Yuffie remarked. "It's even yummier!"

Aerith grinned at her. Her eyes then fell sadly on Squall's empty chair. She knew him too well; if something was on his mind, he kept it to himself.

After dinner, it was time for Yuffie to take her bath. Aerith ran the warm water into the bathtub and poured in the bubble mix. She turned off the tap and let Yuffie slip in. she gathered a few of the plastic toys Merlin had given them and let Yuffie play with them in the bath.

"I love it here," Yuffie said, splashing around playfully. "I hope we don't have to leave."

When she finished, Aerith toweled her dry and dressed her in a new pair of pajamas. She carried Yuffie to her new room and set her on her bed. Yuffie demanded that Aerith read her a story, so she took out Yuffie's all time favourite; Robin Hood.

"… and Prince John was put to jail and everyone lived happily ever after," Aerith finished. She closed the book and glanced at Yuffie. She was fast asleep. Aerith smiled and kissed her goodnight on the face. Aerith watched the little girl for a moment, stroking her hair. She smiled one last time, fixed up her blanket and left.

Aerith sighed heavily and went to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water, then suddenly remembered about Squall, and how he hadn't eaten all day. Aerith heated some food left over from dinner and took it to Squall's room.

"Squall?" Aerith said as she poked her head into his room. She found him sitting on his bed, staring out the window.

"Squall," she said again, entering the room. "I thought you'd be hungry, so –"

"My name isn't Squall anymore," he said coldly. "It's Leon now."

Aerith blinked. She placed the plate of food on the side table and sat next to Squall, no, Leon. He didn't react to her whatsoever as she stared at him concernedly.

"Sq—Leon," Aerith said. "Please look at me." Leon turned and glared coldly at her.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" she whispered.

Leon cast his eyes down.

"Squall was weak and useless," he muttered. "He couldn't save anyone." He sighed wearily. Aerith raised her hand and placed it on his back.

"I don't want to be that person anymore," Leon continued. "I want to start over. As Leon. I won't be weak." He slammed his fist down on the bed and looked down. Aerith rubbed his back gently.

"Leon," she said. "Look at me." She slipped her hand under his chin and lifted up his face. She tried to smile at him.

"You're not weak," Aerith said, shaking her head. "You never were. Stop acting like your life wasn't worth anything before. You're scaring me." Leon jerked his head out of her hand and stared at the floor.

"Rinoa loved Squall," Aerith said firmly. "You can't just erase him like that. If you do, then you want to forget everything. Everything bad and everything good." Aerith placed her hand on his. "Do you really want to forget so badly?"

At that, Leon pushed her away and stood up.

"You're just a kid, Aerith," he said bitterly. Aerith frowned.

"But I know what's happening."

"Everyone we knew and loved are all dead," Leon muttered. "So why does it matter if we forget or not?" He walked to the window and stared out at the darkness.

Aerith stood up and walked behind him.

"How can you say something like that?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. Leon sighed and pressed a hand on the glass.

"I'll never see her again," Leon said sadly. Aerith shook her head again.

"You will!" she told him firmly. "It might be years, but they'll find their way back to us. I just know it."

Aerith sighed heavily and glanced out the window. Leon stared at her.

"Our hearts are connected," she said, smiling. She placed a hand on her chest. "Cloud loves me, and I love him. Our love unites us as one. He's a part of me." She turned to look at Leon. "Just like Rinoa is a part of you."

Aerith placed a hand on the side of his face, pinching his cheek playfully, making him smile just a little. Leon sighed and nodded at his friend. Aerith smiled warmly at him.

"Have something to eat," she told him. She turned and walked to the door. Leon raised his hand and rubbed his cheek.

Aerith opened the door slightly before turning back to face him.

"Goodnight," she said. She gave him one last smile and left. Leon watched the door for a moment, then glanced over at the food she brought for him. Slowly, he took a seat and tasted it. He smiled his rare smile, glanced at the door one last time and started to eat.

Aerith went to her room, closed the door and collapsed on her bed. The wind blew hard, sending the curtains flying. Aerith shivered for a moment, and then got up. She went over to the window and closed it. The curtains were everywhere so she had to tie them up again. She suddenly noticed a large white unlit candle on the windowsill. Aerith picked it up and examined it.

"Where did you come from?" she murmured. She set it back down and lit it.

She watched the flame dance around. It was almost hypnotic.

"Find the light, Cloud," Aerith muttered. "Find it and let it lead you back to me."