Hello! It's me again, and I have chapter 8! Now, I should warn you...this chapter has some...well, frankly, emo moments... But, it couldn't be helped. So, on with the story!

Wait! I forgot...Disclaimer: I don't own KH...I do have a pen, though...

After passing out, Aldrick would go in and out of consciousness, occasionally realizeing things happening around him.

The cool night air brushing against his burnt leg as someone carried him.

The faint smell of flowers as all the pain left his body.

A bag being moved nearby.

Voices speaking in inaudible whispers.

The scratching of a pencil against paper as it wrote out a message.

After what seemed like hours, the teen's body gave up, and the sweet embrace of sleep grabbed hold of him.

Aldrick rolled over, slowly opening his eyes, his gaze falling on a bookcase. The bookcase had an ashtray, with about thirty cigarette butts stuffed into it, on top. After a moment of staring, the events from the previous night flooded back into the teen's mind, and he managed to realize where he was; Cid's home.

He lifted the covers off himself, revealing that he was wearing a pair of red pajama pants. Thinking for a moment, a faint blush crept onto his face as he realized that Cid must have been the one to undress and redress him. The teen looked over the side of the bed to thank the man, only to realize that he wasn't there. The blanket had been neatly folded, and now lay on top of the mattress.

Shaking his head with a smile, Aldrick swung his legs over the side of the bed, and stood. It dawned on him that his leg had been burned by a fireball, and yet he was standing with no pain. Lifting the leg of the pants, he saw that there wasn't even a single trace of the charred flesh, which he knew was there at one point. Running into the bathroom, he looked at the mirror. His reflection had no cuts or bruises, and the only problem the teen seemed to be having was hair control.

Noticing the usual clean towel by the sink, the teen stripped and took a shower. He squirted the shampoo into his palm, noting, again, the faint smell of coconut the liquid had as he rubbed it into his hair.

After he finished cleaning himself, he grabbed the towel and dried himself, wiping the mirror with his hand to be able to see himself. Not wanting to really deal with his hair, he slicked it back with his hand, deciding that the resulting pouf wouldn't matter today.

In the closet, he grabbed some blue boxers, black cargo pants, and a dark green shirt. He also grabbed the black leather belt, which might as well have been his, and a pair of socks.

Getting dressed, he looked over at the bookcase, and noticed his journal amongst the other books. After putting on his boxers and pants, he grabbed it from the shelf, and flipped through it, stopping at a random page.

Some of my so-called 'friends' have started to talk about me behind my back. I trusted them for so long. We had gotten along so well. Then...what happened? I don't think I'll ever know...

Remembering that time, they had started to call him a fag to other people. He hated that word. He denied it, though. It was almost a taboo for a boy to like another boy back then. Even though he didn't care if he was gay or straight, it was easier to deny. Another page was stopped on.

I was called a fag today. I was going to do something, but decided it wasn't worth my time. It never seems to end. Why? What did I ever do to them?

This one was vague to the teen, but he wasn't surprised that it had happened. Flipping through more, he found that a page had been torn out. He read the page that was written before it, and frowned.

I got suspended from school for fighting today. Although, I should probably say I got suspended for getting the shit knocked out of me. I threw one punch, only to defend myself, and that constituted as me fighting. Me against three...and I got the same punishment as them.

Mom scolded me for getting suspended, and I just stood there, staring through my swollen eyes. "Grades are important." she said, as if I didn't know. Sometimes I don't think she cares how I feel.

Every so often, I wonder if there will ever be an end to the torture I face everyday. If there will be some sort of escape I can take to get away from everything...

The words stopped there, and Aldrick remembered that he had fallen asleep while writing. There were small, circular water stains on the paper; tears he had cried from the pain he felt.

He sighed. /...I did get my escape. I got taken here...and I'm happy. Leon, Yuffie, Aerith...and Cid...they're here for me. I know they won't abandon me...\

Aldrick tried to change his thoughts, and tried to remember what was on the missing page. He never wrote down the dates for the entries, and now wished he had. Giving up after a couple of minutes, he finished getting dressed, and headed into the kitchen, setting the journal back on the bookshelf on his way out of the room.

He was about to grab something out of the refrigerator when he noticed a glint of metal on the counter, next to the sink. Aldrick picked up the metal, a key, and saw a note that had sat beneath it.

Meet at the cave. Don't eat, lunch was made--

Aldrick stopped reading, and looked towards the fridge with a look of panic on his face. /...Maybe I should eat. What if Aerith cooked...\ He shuddered at the thought, then sighed as he continued reading.

--lunch was made by Leon, so don't worry. This is the key to the shop, lock up when you leave. -Cid

Aldrick pocketed the key, and headed upstairs and into the shop. After making sure there wasn't a certain ninja there, he stepped outside into the warm sunlight.

Locking the door behind himself, the teen started to make his way into the second district, stopping when he passed by the synthesis shop. He hadn't seen the completed item, and wondered if it was ready yet. He opened the unlocked door and stepped in, only to be greeted by a "Glad you came, Kupo! That means Cid made it in time."

"...You sent Cid?" Aldrick looked towards the moogle, his face filled with question.

"Yep. I figured you might have needed help, so I went to get Leon. He said to have Cid do it, and...well, the rest is obvious, kupo."

/Leon had Cid sent? Does he...\ The teen blushed, then quickly asked "Is the item ready?"

The moogle flew over to the large, complicated looking oven, and grabbed something from the top, and passed it off to the teen. It was covered in cloth, and when Aldrick uncovered it, he was amazed at what he saw.

It was what looked like a spearhead, only made of what seemed like diamond. "Hard to make it look like that, kupo, but after what you went through, we figured you deserved some extra effort."

Aldrick, beyond excited, pulled the moogle into a hug as he repeatedly said "Thank you!" After his little moment, he ran out the door, heading towards the cavern.

"Kupo...do you think he knows what today is?" One of the two other moogles spoke up, looking towards his leader.

Kuroc only shrugged. "Probably not, kupo, but Cid figured it might be like that."

Reaching the cavern, Aldrick noticed that the stone platforms, while still floating, had stopped moving from side to side. This made it easier for the teen to cross, and did so without any slipping. Disappointed that Cid hadn't been there to see, he stepped into the shabby house, only to be greeted by a man in a blue robe.

"Oh my, you must be Aldrick. What a stout looking lad..." The man stroked his long beard as he spoke, examining the teen.

"Uh...yes? You're Merlin, right? I'm just passing through. Please, don't mind me..." The teen couldn't stand being stared at, and just wanted to get down to the cave. He stepped onto the elevator-like stone, and stomped on it, getting no reaction. He stomped it again, still getting nothing out of the stone. /Not even a tremble...\

"Oh, let me get that!" The magician pulled a wand from his large sleeve, and waved it at the stone. The large rock shifted a little, then slowly lowered into the room below.

"He's definitely polite for his age. Maybe he'll be able to turn that coot around..." Merlin stroked his beard as he opened a book, and gazed at the pages happily.

The teen descended down the stairs, saying a loud "Cid?" Getting no answer, he wondered if anyone was even here yet.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he immediately saw pink streamers, and was scared as two voices yelled out "Surprise!"

To be continued...

Yay! Finished! Now, I guess I should thank andrhats once again for reviewing...so, thankies! Now, people besides andrhats (because andrhats already knows how), all you have to do is push the little square button on the bottom left of the page, and type what you think. It's not hard, I've done it before. Please...for me?