A Heart Renewed
By: CrimsonCrome
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts but I do own Patience Lyndenburg and also my made up ideas.
A/N: Now for Cloud's side of the story…
Chapter TwoIt was nearly sunrise. The lake glistened against the morning glow, setting the water on fire. A lone figure stood, waist deep, in the gentle waves.
In his hand was a single crimson rose. He held it lightly, barely wrapping his fingers around the thorns and the stem. The petals moved with the soft breeze. The figure brought the flower to his lips and let his tears soak it. Then, with one slow movement, he set the flower on top of the water and watched it float on the waves.
His face hardening, Cloud left the lake and entered the wood surrounding it. His motorcycle was waiting for him between two trees. He started the engine and listened to the powerful machine roar to life. The vibrations sent chills through his skin as he started to regain his composer.
He could feel again.
Cloud straddled his bike and hit the accelerator. The trees whipped past, unnoticed, unidentifiable. The sun was peaking over the horizon behind him now. He could feel the warmth on his black cloak. The wind whipped through his hair and toyed with his sleeve.
The city came into view and the forest abruptly ended. Rock cliffs rose beside him, towering over him and his vehicle. Dust flew in a straight line behind him. The sun brought on its full intensity. Cloud clenched his hands around the handlebars, the motorcycle shot forward.
Before entering the city, the rock cliffs gave way to a vast expanse of open land, banned of any vegetation, mostly dust. Cloud looked on steadily at the remains of small houses. Broken fences, loose livestock, and beggars all greeted him as he entered the city. He zipped past smoking buildings, potholes, and looters. There was a giant fountain in the middle of the town square; its broken pieces lay in the water along with several floating bodies. A small child was screaming for his mother. Cloud turned his head away and zoomed through a shouting crowd of people.
When he finally arrived at the building he had been heading toward, he wasn't surprised to see the door to his apartment hanging open. He ran inside and found his things scattered all over the floor. Frustrated, he went to the back of the apartment to his bedroom.
"Tifa?" There was a loud shuffling from inside and then a crash. The door opened a crack and two red eyes peered from within the room.
"Cloud?"
"What happened?" Cloud asked as she opened the door to let him in.
"Looters. For some stupid reason I left the door unlocked. They were in here almost before I could get the bedroom door closed. One of them had a knife," Tifa shook her head.
Cloud went back into the other room. "It looks like all they wanted was food. They left everything else, it seems. I think they just tossed it around a bit."
Tifa stood beside him and grabbed his arm. "I'm just glad you're safe."
"I can handle looters," Cloud said reassuringly.
"But what if it was Sephiroth?" Tifa whispered with a strong sense of dread.
Cloud gave her a warning glance and broke from her grasp. He began to pick up the things on the floor. Tifa helped him.
"When will we be able to leave?" Tifa asked Cloud as she replaced a jar into a cupboard.
Cloud shut and locked the front door. Then he turned and looked at her. "Soon. Cid went to find fuel. Yuffie said they found some in the air hanger, but they'd have to sneak it out."
"We should take others with us," Tifa suggested.
"Why? So they can terrorize Destiny Islands? These people in this city have gone mad. There's no order and they will not likely go back to order. We'd be bringing a plague upon the peaceful citizens of Vision Shores," He shook his head. "No, it must only be us and no one else."
"But there are children here, Cloud. They're dying of malnutrition and they have no one to look after them," Tifa was crying now. "What about the children?"
"They have the disease, Tifa. If we took them to Destiny Islands, they'd spread it to the other children. We'd wipe out an entire generation!" Cloud went to her and put a hand on each of her shaking shoulders. "I want to help them too, but we can't. They have to survive, if they can, on this island."
The brunette stepped inward and cried in Cloud's arms. They stood there like that for half an hour until a knock came at their door. Tifa stepped back and looked through the peephole to the outside. Cloud unsheathed his sword.
"It's okay, it's just Yuffie," Tifa opened the door to the black haired ninja.
"We need to go. Another attack is coming and Cid has just enough fuel to get us off the coast of Foretelling Isle. We have to be quick before the airships get to the hanger!" Yuffie said while waving her arms in alarm.
Cloud walked past Tifa and Yuffie and boarded his motorcycle. "Let's go."
Tifa grabbed a few things and then ran out the door with Yuffie. She got onto Cloud's bike and Yuffie got on her own motorcycle.
"Let's go," Yuffie shouted over the roar of the engines. Then they were off, past beggars and diseased children, mobs and looters. Cloud kept his sword ready at his side. Yuffie pulled forth her oversized shuriken as they raced across the paved roads to the outskirts of the city.
This time, they were heading north, toward the airship hanger. The alarms in the city sounded and people scattered like roaches. Cloud barely avoided hitting a confused child as he raced past the people to the dusty outskirts.
There was a loud blast from a cannon several miles away.
"They may already be there!" Yuffie screamed in frustration over the noise.
Tifa clenched her fists.
They continued on toward the hanger. More cannon blasts, nearly deafening. Yuffie put in earplugs, Cloud and Tifa followed suit. The earth shook with each new blast. Through the summer haze they saw the oncoming airship hanger. Several airborne ships were exchanging cannon blasts. One small ship came crashing down several yards to the left of Cloud's bike.
"Look! There's Cid's ship! He's got the gangplank open! We'll have to jump in!" Yuffie shouted. They saw a massive airship coming toward them, dodging the cannons of the battling ones around it.
"Is there a ramp anywhere?" Tifa shouted back to her.
Yuffie pointed to the takeoff strip. There was a luggage truck there. It had a cargo belt aiming upward. "Could we use that?"
Tifa looked to Cloud who shook his head yes. They zipped toward it, Cid's airship coming up fast. Cloud was first to the ramp and he hit the accelerator as hard as he could. The bike wrenched violently upward and Cloud and Tifa soared through the open air to the garage in Cid's ship. Cloud steadied his vehicle as best he could then managed to land on the gangplank. He hit the gas and wiped out on the floor.
Yuffie followed him but turned at a weird angle in the air. She landed funny on the gangplank and her motorcycle began to slide out from under her. She tried to scream in terror but nothing came from her mouth. The bike slid off the gangplank and Yuffie grabbed hold of the retractable bars attached to the sides of the gangway.
Cloud, who had helped Tifa up from their rough landing, finally saw Yuffie holding on for her dear life. He ran to the gangplank, anchored himself against a protruding beam in the ship, and then extended his hand. Yuffie reached for it but couldn't grab hold. She slid off her headband and threw it desperately upward. Cloud managed to grab the loop where her head was before the wind could hungrily snatch it away. He pulled her upward and the threads began to break.
Tifa saw the predicament and ran to aid Cloud. She grasped hold of the beam and then grabbed Yuffie's arm, hauling her upward.
Cloud hit a button on the wall and the gangplank began to close. Yuffie lay of the floor.
"I can't feel my leg," she said, winded.
Tifa knelt beside her and looked at Yuffie's swollen leg. "Maybe you broke it?"
"My motorcycle pinned it against the gangplank and it snapped it before tumbling off," Yuffie said desperately, looking to Cloud.
The blond knelt beside the ninja and picked her up. He held her in his arms, carefully so as not to upset her leg, and began to ascend the stairs to the cockpit. Tifa followed behind.
Cid was awaiting their arrival. He had a toothpick protruding from his lips and his hands on the control board. He managed to dodge another cannon. "Let's get out of here." He raised his hand and then slammed it down on a button that said Acceleration Thrusters. The ship shot forward and away from the battleground of airships. They all watched in silence for a moment as the powerful ship rocketed past the broken city and across the dusty outskirts to the seashores. When they were a few good miles over the water, Cid hit another button and the ship slowed.
"Cid, we think Yuffie broke her leg on her way into the ship," Tifa said sympathetically.
The blond pilot put both hands on his hips and frowned. "Well whaddya do that for, kid?"
"You didn't exactly make it easy to get in here," Yuffie snarled. "I lost my bike thanks to you."
"You should be thanking me that you didn't blow to bits," Cid said warningly. He went over to a wall and pressed on it. A small square receded into the wall above it and a compartment appeared. Cid grabbed a white box and went back over to Yuffie. Cloud placed her gently on the cockpit floor and Cid went to work on setting her leg with the materials he had.
Tifa went over to the digital map on the control board and watched the blinking marker head toward a thing outlined in red. "Is that Foretelling Isle?"
"Yeah, it's still a good day away though," Cid said while clenching his toothpick with is teeth. "Better find yah a cabin and settle in for the night."
Cloud walked down the hallway to the cabins and pressed a button for the door he was in front of. It opened. He entered the small cabin and sat down on the bed. And wept.
XxX
Nighttime fell on the ocean and the ship racing for land. Tifa was awake, dressed in loose pajamas and some comfy blue slippers she stole from Cid's room while he was piloting the ship. She exited her cabin and went down the hallway to the cockpit and found Yuffie sitting in the captain's seat, flying the ship.
Tifa stared out the cockpit window. The stars were the only source of light for the dark ocean below them. There was nothing else but sheer darkness.
"How are you?" She asked Yuffie, sitting down in a passenger seat beside her.
"I think Cid did a good job of setting my leg. There's no pain yet, just a lot of itching I can't reach because of this confounded tape!" She scratched at the tape around her leg irately.
Tifa gave a small smile. "I hope that it heals fast. At least your safe."
"We still got to get to the island. This thing could run out of fuel if we're not careful. Cid used a lot in our little escape," Yuffie pointed to a meter on the control board showing the fuel levels. "If we crash land this thing, we could be sliced to bits at the speed this thing is going. Then I won't have to worry about broken legs, I won't have any."
Tifa scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Don't talk like that! Focus on the positive."
Yuffie shrugged. "Gotta prepare, y'know?"
They sat in silence for a moment, watching the dark waves pass under them.
"Aren't you tired?" Tifa asked her dark haired friend.
Yuffie shook her head. She produced an energy drink from a cup holder in her seat. "Cid found these on the enemy base. Nice, huh? Keeps me going, nonetheless."
Tifa smiled broadly this time. "Those things will keep you up for days! No wonder you don't even look tired!"
Yuffie groaned. "Days?"
Both the girls jumped as a loud bang came from inside one of Cid's compartments. Yuffie gave Tifa a confused look.
Tifa got up and walked over to the compartment the noise seemed to come from. Carefully, she placed her hand on the square and it began to open. She was surprised to see someone staring back at her from the inside. Tifa screamed.
Yuffie looked over her shoulder, helplessly watching the events unfold. "What is it, Tifa?"
The figure inside the compartment grunted and then squeezed out of the hole. It was barely big enough for him. He got out and grabbed Tifa by the shoulders. "Quiet."
She closed her mouth and stared in terror at the muscular being in front of her. "Who are you?"
The man blinked. He had shoulder length, brown hair and dark blue eyes. He had a scar that ran from his forehead to under his right eye. He was tall and had a gunblade attached to his back. He wore a small black jacket with a white t-shirt underneath, long black pants, and several belts. He also wore black gloves; similar to the ones Cloud wore. "The name's Leon."
Yuffie tried to swing her chair around. "What are you doing on our ship? How dare you!"
Leon smirked. "Tough talk for a girl with a broken leg. I had to get away from that island, and this ship was my only chance."
"You could have asked us first!" Yuffie spat irritably.
"Would you have taken me?" Leon challenged her.
Yuffie sniffed. "NO."
Tifa backed away from him. "You scared us."
"Sorry," the stowaway seated himself next to Yuffie. "Maybe you can keep me a secret from your captain, so I don't get in the way."
"Fat chance," Yuffie hissed.
Leon leaned close to her, his mouth inches from hers. "I think you will."
Yuffie pushed him backward as hard as she could, sending him flying. "Don't try to be seductive you moron. You're not that cute."
Tifa couldn't help but laugh at Leon's sprawled form. "Wow, you pulled that on the wrong girl."
He sighed. "You're telling me."
Yuffie crossed her arms over her chest. "That's what you get," she pushed a call button. "Cid? We need you in the cockpit."
A raspy voice crackled over the intercom. "You want me to get up at two in the morning? This better be insanely important, kid."
Leon stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. His muscles bulged from beneath his jacket sleeves. "Tattle tale."
"Two year old," Yuffie shot back.
A few minutes later, Cid entered the cockpit. "What's the –" he stopped himself when he saw Leon. "Who the heck are you and what are you doing on my ship?" Cid's face turned a dark red as he screamed at the boy.
Leon tossed his bangs from his eyes. "The name's Leon. And I stowed away on your ship if you haven't already guessed old man."
"DON'T CALL ME OLD!" Cid walked over to him. He pointed a finger at Leon and poked him hard in the chest. "I HAVE NO PROBLEM THROWING YOU OVERBOARD!"
"Don't touch me, old man, you're without a weapon and I could slice you in half with my gunblade," Leon growled.
Tifa stood behind Cid. "Try it and I'll snap your neck."
Leon laughed. "You? Yeah right."
Yuffie pulled out her oversized shuriken. "Don't get any ideas. You're at our mercy."
Cid smirked. "They may be girls, but they can bring the hurt, tough guy."
"All I want is to get to Destiny Islands," Leon said nonchalantly, like there wasn't any tension in the air.
"And why should I provide you passage?" Cid asked bitterly.
Leon walked back over to the compartment he had fallen out of and pulled forth a large haversack. "Because I have food."
Yuffie's mouth watered, Tifa took a step toward Leon, and Cid cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"All of it is my payment," Leon grumbled. "Now that I'm caught."
Cid wiped some drool from his mouth and stood up straight. "Well, I am a generous man, no doubt. So hand over the food, kid!" He grabbed the haversack and pulled out the good bread and cheese inside it. He tossed some to Tifa and Yuffie. They stuffed their faces hungrily.
Leon sniffed, disgusted. "Where do I room?"
"Doawn –" Cid swallowed. "Down the hall, the very last room on the right."
"Thanks," Leon said sarcastically and headed off down the hallway.
"We have to ration it!" Yuffie warned them. "We can't just eat it all at once!"
"Aw, but its so good," Tifa whined.
Cid shook his head, his cheeks bulging with bread. "She's right, gotta ration it." He walked over to a compartment and opened it. Inside were the meager rations they had come up with for the journey: hard carrots, crunchy bread, and some water. He placed the generous portion of bread and cheese beside them and closed the compartment. Then he punched in a combination lock on the outside of the compartment door.
"Nobody gets in here without my permission, got it?" Cid eyed the two girls suspiciously.
"You locked it," Yuffie pointed out, annoyed.
"I'm not stupid. You're a thief, Yuffie, you could probably crack this code," Cid said angrily.
"Your birthday," she said smartly.
Cid opened his mouth in surprise and then changed the combination while hiding it with his back. "Don't try and guess anymore. I put an alarm on it!"
Tifa watched the captain leave and then sat down beside Yuffie. "He was cute, wasn't he?"
"Cid?" Yuffie asked in surprise.
"No! Not Cid, Leon!" Tifa waved her hands for emphasis.
Yuffie chuckled. "No. He got you under his spell, didn't he."
Tifa crossed her arms in front of her chest. "No! I just liked his muscles."
"Admit it, you were going to hide him," Yuffie smiled knowingly.
"No– okay maybe," Tifa shrugged.
Yuffie shook her head and turned back to the control board. "Oh, look at the fuel levels!"
Tifa looked at the fuel quantity gauge and found it below normal. "Are we going to make it to Foretelling Isle?"
Yuffie shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe you should get some sleep. You'll want to be alert in case something goes wrong tomorrow."
Tifa stood and ran a hand through her dark brown hair. She adjusted Cid's blue slippers (which he had failed to notice were missing) and went down the hallway to her cabin. She looked to the last room on the right and saw that the door was slightly open. Curious, she went down the hall and peeked inside.
Inside Leon was standing in the middle of the room. He had taken off his jacket and was now taking off his white t-shirt. He was facing the other way, so he did not see Tifa. When the shirt was off, Tifa saw that his muscular back was covered in seeping scratches and wounds. He groaned and sat down on the bed.
Tifa accidentally leaned on the door and it made a sound. She straightened up but Leon was there before she could move. He pinned her against the hallway wall. "Come to poison me in my sleep?" His face was totally serious.
"I can help you with those wounds," she whispered, unsure of what to say.
Leon looked her in the eyes and then let go of her, walking back in the room. She followed. He turned and shut the door behind her, locking it. Tifa gulped.
"Well," he pointed to his back.
Tifa went into the bathroom and got out a cloth. She turned on the cold water and soaked the washrag. After ringing it out, she went back to Leon. "Lay down on the bed," she said softly.
Leon gave her an untrusting look.
"Do you want help or not?" Tifa asked, impatiently.
Leon stared at her a moment longer, then laid down on the bed so that his back was facing upward. Tifa came over and gently placed the cold washrag on his back. He jumped.
"Easy," she said. She wiped the rag over the wounds, being careful just to wash away the mess. She went back into the bathroom and found a roll of gauze and some athletic tape behind the mirror. Obviously Cid had used this when he had had the accident with the engine a year ago. Tifa went back to Leon. She made him stand and began to wrap the gauze around his torso. When she was finished, she went to the door and began to unlock it.
Leon went to her and stopped. Tifa could tell he felt awkward.
"Thank you," he said in a tone that suggested he'd never said it before.
Tifa nodded and left the room. She went back down the hallway but stopped when she saw Cloud's light was on and his door was slightly open also. She looked inside.
He was holding up a picture. Tifa recognized the woman as Aerith. She watched Cloud set the picture down and hold his head in his hands. Her heart sank as she heard heavy sobs coming from his shaking body. She left him be and went to her own room.
XxX
The next morning, Cloud woke to the sound of a scream. He ran out into the hallway, dressed in only his boxers and saw Tifa laughing at a man with shoulder length brown hair. He ran back into his room, got dressed, and then walked back out to see who the guy was.
He approached the two, Tifa was laughing.
"What's going on?" Cloud asked, confused. "Who screamed?"
Tifa choked a bit over her giggles and then explained. "Leon scared me. Oh, Cloud this is Leon. He stowed away on our ship, but he paid us with food so Cid let him stay on board."
Cloud looked at the muscular man suspiciously. "How do we know he's not one of them?"
Tifa stared wide-eyed at Cloud. "Uh –"
"Show me the palm of your hand," Cloud demanded.
Leon didn't do as he was asked. "Why do you want to see it?"
"The mark of the enemy is embedded in the skin on the palm. Now show it to me or I'll kill you," Cloud said warningly.
"You couldn't take me," Leon countered. He showed Cloud his palm. "Satisfied."
Cloud inspected Leon's palm, it was normal. He didn't say anything, just stared into Leon's eyes, trying to figure out how to handle him. He walked to the cockpit.
Tifa shrugged her shoulders. "Cloud is a great guy, you'll like him."
"Yeah right," Leon said sarcastically.
Yuffie entered the hallway and beckoned them to the cockpit. "Cid's about to open the food compartment! It's breakfast time, guys!"
They all went into the cockpit and saw Cid with a tray of food. "Here, eat up."
They all grabbed something to munch on when the control board began to flash red and a siren went off.
"Crap!" Cid ran over to the control board and looked at the fuel level. "I'm going to have to kick on the backup engine. We're not going to make it to the island!"
Yuffie pointed out the window. "Look! I can see the edge of the island!"
"We still got a ways to go! Fasten your seatbelts kiddies! We're turning big bertha on!" Cid punched the button that said Back Up Engine and the ship shook violently and then sped forward again.
Leon dropped his carrot.
"Are we going to make it?" Yuffie shouted over the noise of the back up thrusters, which were nearer to the cockpit.
Cid looked at her wildly. "I don't know. We ain't got much fuel left to go on. Crap. We just ran out."
The ship shook violently and started to plummet toward the waves. The shores of Foretelling Isle were coming on fast, but not fast enough. Tifa screamed and Cid grunted as the ship hit the waves of the ocean and bounced back in the air. Then the ship hit dry land and skidded over several palm trees. The ship creaked and metal could be heard breaking off. Yuffie gritted her teeth. Then the ship stopped.
"Is everybody in one piece?" Cid shouted over the dying engines.
"Yeah," Leon grumbled.
A thumbs up from Yuffie, a nod from Cloud, and a weary smile from Tifa. Satisfied, Cid opened the roof hatch to the cockpit and climbed out.
"Oh crap! My ship's a wreck!" Cid kicked a beam on the roof and then yelled in pain.
Leon shook his head. "Did he think it would look nice after that crash landing?"
Cloud didn't answer him, rather got out of his seatbelt and joined Cid on the roof. Foretelling Isle was swarming with gnats, mosquitoes, and other daytime bugs. Cloud looked at the broken palm trees, only a few in the dense forest they had landed in. The ocean was sparkling red against the morning sun. He looked down at the curious faces below him, staring upward. He hoisted up Yuffie and Tifa and watched Leon struggle to climb out of the hatch. The hot sun warmed their skin.
"Okay, Cid. Which way to Vision Shores?" Yuffie asked.
Cid shook his head. "The digital map was broken in the accident. We're going to have to search for the bridge ourselves."
"Cloud it be on the other side of those mountains?" Leon asked, pointing in the distance to mountains in the middle of the island.
"That's a long trek," Tifa said in an exhausted voice.
"Well, I ain't got the parts to fix my ship so we gotta get walking," Cid said, annoyed.
Cloud got back down in the ship and began to pack up the stuff he would need for the trek across the island. He rolled up his sheets and blankets and placed the picture of Aerith inside his pillowcase. He grabbed his sword and got back on the roof. Tifa was the next to appear, followed by Leon and then Yuffie. Cloud noticed Leon's gunblade and gripped his own sword a little tighter.
Cid sighed. "Well, let's get going then."
XxX End Chapter Two XxX
Thank you to my kind reviewers, Raine Ishida and Silver Pheonix-Dragon