For the longest time, I've had writer's block. Sucks for me, but I couldn't do a thing about it. Well, till now. Enjoy this alternate ending for The Mechanic's Apprentice.

Aldrick rolled over, his eyes slowly opening. He could see a sky, and some birds that seemed to be robins. The sound of a waterfall could be heard. He opened his eyes all the way and sat up, an "Ow..." being said from the pain in his empty stomach. He then realized that he had been changed, and was now wearing only a pair of black boxers.

"Good. You're awake. I was getting worried there for a minute. You'd been sleeping for the past two days." Cid spoke from a chair near a fireplace, a small table nearby with a mostly filled ashtray sitting on it.

Aldrick looked out the window he had woken up to, a hand on his gut to try and stop the hunger pains. "...Where am I?" he asked, looking back to the mechanic.

"Hollow Bastion. One of the castle's rooms. Our room, to be more precise." He grinned a little as Aldrick blushed at the mentioning of 'our room'. "Yep! We're tryin' to clear out the heartless, and it's taking a while, but it's getting done. The others have been working really hard. Even that brat Yuffie hasn't been annoying me or you."

Aldrick tried to get out of the bed, but Cid immediately got up and kept the teen down. "You're not getting up. You're wounds may have been healed, but you're still weak. Leon should get here with some food soon."

Almost as if on cue, Leon knocked on the door and walked in, a tray with toast and eggs on it, along with a glass of orange juice, in his hands. "Well, speak of the devil." Cid said as he scratched his stubble.

"Yuffie needs your help. Something about a busted pipe or something in the kitchen." Leon spoke like he didn't really care, and after setting the tray on Aldrick's lap, he grabbed a chair and placed it next to the bed. "I'll watch Aldrick." was all he said as he sat down.

Cid, grabbing some toast, started to head for the door. "Stay in bed. If you don't, I'm going to have to sit on you." he called over his shoulder. He grabbed a spear from by the door, and Aldrick noticed an unusual sparkle from the spearhead, and the teen smiled when he realized that it was the one Aldrick had gotten for Cid.

Once Cid had left, Leon turned his head towards the teen, who had begun to eat. "We need to talk."

Aldrick looked up from his plate, confused. "Talk?"

"Yes, talk. It's about you going home." At this, Aldrick stopped eating, looking down at his half eaten plate of eggs as he set the fork down. "Since you've been sleeping, I've been trying to get the portal for the keyhole of this world to change, and temporarily get a way for you to get home. In the past two days, All three of us, me, Yuffie, and Aerith, have been working hard, and finally got it. You can go home."

Aldrick continued to eat, but stayed quiet. /Home...but, this is more my home then back there...but that would be selfish, like Maleficent said...they do care for me in both places...but...\ He was getting tired of all the 'buts', and slightly shook his head.

"You don't want to go home?" Leon sounded only the tiniest bit curious, but still managed to stay as unemotional as ever.

Aldrick shook his head, but said "I can't be so selfish. I want to stay, but my mother, and my friends, are so worried about me..."

"Then get dressed. We'll open the portal soon." With nothing else left to say, Leon stood up. He headed for the door, and Aldrick crawled out of the bed/So soon?...\ crossed his mind as he headed for the closet.

Grabbing his belt, a pair of light blue boxers, a pair of baggy green pants, and a white t-shirt, he dressed himself. He also grabbed some socks, and put those on as well, and left the closet, walking up to Leon. On his way, he noticed something green on the fireplace, and looked closer, realizing it was his journal. Picking that up, he decided once again to take it with him, and he returned to heading back towards the gunblader.

Putting on his shoes that had been placed by the door, he simply said "I'm ready..." and he was led out of the room. They passed through many rooms and corridors, and after about five minutes of walking, they arrived in the Grand hall, where Yuffie and Aerith were waiting. Sad looks adorned their faces, and Yuffie could be heard sniffling.

"Do you really have to go?" Aerith sounded desperate, but Aldrick nodded, his eyes on the floor.

"You...You..." Yuffie couldn't say anything, so Aerith took her out of the room, and Aldrick was left with only Leon.

Leon started to work the controls, and Aldrick waited, staring at the portal. Soon, Leon stopped pushing buttons, and Aldrick could see a change in the gate. A room appeared, and the teen could immediately recognize it as his own. It was cleaner than he remembered, but it was his all the same.

He stood there, staring into his room. He didn't move. "It won't be open long. The machine is about to break." Leon was staring at the controls, making sure everything was running smoothly.

As Aldrick started to walk up the stairs to enter his room, he could hear the door to the Hall open, along with sound of heavy footsteps like someone was running. He turned to his right, and his gaze was placed upon an out of breath Cid.

"Why...are you...leaving?" He was trying to catch his breath, and kept coming closer. Aldrick only turned his head away, not even looking at Cid as the mechanic stepped in front of his apprentice.

"...I need to go home..."

"But isn't...this your...home?"

"...Stop..." Aldrick didn't look up, but he was obviously getting frustrated.

"Aren't we good...enough for you?"

"...Stop it..."

"Do you hate us that much?" Cid had now caught his breath, and stared right at Aldrick.

"No...Stop...please..."

"If you don't hate us, then stay!"

"I can't!" He looked up at Cid, his frustration clearly showing.

The smack echoed against the walls of the Grand Hall, and Aldrick's head snapped back to the side from Cid's slap. His anger on his face, and desperation showed in his voice. "You have a choice! Don't say you can't!"

Aldrick's eyes watered, but only one tear rolled down his cheek. "It's not that simple. My mother...my friends...they're worried about me. I just disappeared on them..."

Cid wanted to try to stop the teen one last time, but there was nothing else for him to say. He turned and left, leaving the room, and Aldrick turned back around, hearing Leon say "Only six more minutes..."

He took a step, but he couldn't make himself go any farther. He couldn't leave. He didn't want to. He looked down at the journal in his hands, and remembered something.

"...I need a pen..." At this, Leon smirked, and grabbed a black pen from the control panel.

Cid had wandered the castle, not sure what he should do. He just wandered, only to find himself outside the main gates. He stared into the setting sun, his eyes watery.

"Damn brat...why? I thought he was happy here...Damn it!" He kneeled down, and his fist pounded into the ground numerous times to vent his anger, frustration, and sadness. He stopped when his knuckles started to bleed, the skin torn from the constant thrashing.

He could hear the gates open, but didn't turn around. The mechanic could even hear footsteps coming towards him, but he didn't acknowledge it. He just stood and gently rubbed his knuckles, trying to stop the bleeding, not really caring about the pain.

"...Hey." The person spoke to Cid, and the man recognized the voice.

"The hell do you want?" He turned, and his eyes met one's that were the color of ice, one's that weren't what he wanted to see.

Leon held out a book with a green cover, and Cid bit his tongue to hold back his yelling. "I don't want to see that. Why did you bring it?"

"Aldrick wanted you to have it."

Cid grabbed the book, staring at it with misty eyes. "Damn that brat..."

Leon turned to walk away, calling out "He would want you to read the last page." right before heading back into the castle.

Turning to the last page out of curiosity, the mechanic's throat tightened as he read a quickly scrawled message.

Cid,

I wanted so badly to stay...but I just couldn't. My family, my friends...they are all worried about me, and I them. But, please, I beg of you, don't think I didn't love you. I loved you so much, but my staying here would only make me worry about my world even more.

I think, though, it'll be better. You taught me a lot...how to make jewelry...how to fight...how to love...I thank you for all of that. I won't be okay for a while...but, over time, I'll get better, my heart will heal, and I might even love someone else...but you will always be the one who taught me how to love, and the one that will always have a place in my heart.

Goodbye...and I love you,

-Aldrick

Closing the book, Cid held the journal close to his chest, his heart in pain, but he smiled as he stared at the rising moon, his mind wandering to his apprentice.

Rita had decided to go into her son's room one more time. Why? It didn't matter. All she knew was that her son had been there. Sighing, she opened the door, and turned on the light. She let out a yelp of surprise when she saw someone standing in the center of the room, but quickly covered her mouth when she realized who it was.

"Al...Aldrick? Is it...really you?" Her eyes watering, she let out another yelp when the teen turned, his grey eyes wet with tears, a smile on his face.

"...I'm home...mom..."

Rita quickly ran up and embraced her son, tears of joy running down her face and onto Aldrick's shoulder. "Oh, Aldrick! I missed you so much!"

Holding his mother, Aldrick's smile seemed to quiver, and his eyes started to leak out tears. When Rita pulled away, she wiped away her tears and started to leave the room. "Oh, I need to call people. Your grandmother, your uncle, the police. I need to do so much."

Once she left, Aldrick's smile finally faltered, and the tears kept coming. Looking around his room, he noticed his Playstation 2 and the games for it, and he sifted through the games, finding Kingdom Hearts. Placing the game on top of his television, Aldrick let out a small smile, and said "Love you...Cid..." before leaving to follow his mother.

This idea, was actually inspired bye First Love, the song by Utada Hikaru(Yay for her, by the way!) Anyway, I do think this cured my writer's block for my other two stories.

For andrhats: You're probably a little mad at me for not writing faster, but that's okay. I'll deal. But, anyway, the English story that's been taking up my time had to be based on the themes from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, so I made it a murder mystery. However...I only have 2 chapters written, and no idea when I'm going to finish. But, my other stories are starting to become more important to me, so we'll just have to wait and see when I'll get them done. Here's to hoping.