...Hi, guys. Long time, no see. I really have to apologise. It's been...a horrible, horrible, year since I last posted. Go ahead, shoot me. I've...been sick. It's all I can say about the subject, and I'm still recovering with the help of my new uke, PerringtonJones. He's basically had to baby me through the past five months, and it's taking quite a lot. Anyway, let's get back down to the story. I hope my style hasn't changed too much, and if it has, that you like it. And, since I still somehow managed to get favourites for both this story and Fading Man, I give you two or three chapters in one as an apology. That's why it is a little jumpy.

Zack was swearing.
Zack swearing was never a good sign, especially when the sun had barely risen. Leon had known the man for three months now, and enjoyed the company of the once-dead SOLDIER- mostly because most of the skills required for rebuilding Hollow Bastion, Zack already had. "What's up, Zack?" Leon's eyebrow rose a centimetre as he watched the man cuss at Merlin's stove. Zack jumped slightly and shifted suspiciously so he faced Leon with the stove behind him. Zack was just in the borrowed grey slacks he had acquired from Leon- he was much longer in the leg and wider then Cloud was.
"Ah ha, ha haa... Do I have to be up to something?" Zack grinned, trying to pull his innocent face even as Leon steadily stared him down. The man wasn't falling for it, and Zack began to babble about how he wasn't doing anything, he was innocent and he was just looking for something. Leon's disbelief grew and grew, until he finally looked amused.
"Therefore, I cannot be up to anything and... Why are you grinning?"
"Zack... You're on fire."
Zack let out a strangled yell as he realized and pain finally registered. He started to beat at his rear and Leon tossed a bucket of water that Aerith had used for cleaning the floors with the day before but had never emptied, over him. Zack smouldered and checked himself over for any burns.
"Man... Blisters." Zack scowled at them temporarily, and looked away as they started healing neatly. Leon was paying no attention to him, much more concerned with the stove and the spreading fire. There were no more buckets just lying around, and the tap would take too long...
Leon sighed, focused sharply, and flooded the entire kitchen out with a water spell, drenching not just the fire and the objects, but he, Zack, and Aerith's new pet kitten (whom Zack named Rawr). Leon scooped the kitten up and put it on the table and it mewled.
"It's going to take a lot to get rid of this water." Zack sighed and shook a leg free of water and headed back to the room he shared with Aerith. Leon started scooping the water into the sink with the recently used bucket, already craving coffee again. Eventually Zack came back down fully dressed and in Cid's fishing waders.
"So, what were you trying to do?"
Zack sighed and flushed slightly, like an embarrassed school boy.
"I wanted to cook everyone breakfast, give Aerith a break for once. But I screwed up."
"I noticed."
Leon smiled slightly and kept scooping, Zack starting to help.

Aerith had shooed them out of the kitchen once she got up. By that point the pair had managed to get rid of most of the water, and what was left Aerith intended to do. Luckily, none of the water had even gotten close to Cid's computer which would have resulted in a lot of wrath. Zack had left shortly after, gone to look for Cloud who had taken up disappearing on a nearly regular basis, with no explanation given. Leon had accepted his fellow Restoration Member's absences, but they caused him to worry a little every time. He was aware, intellectually, that Cloud was more than a match for just about everything in the local vicinity, but he worried none-the-less. Particularly after Cloud announced he was searching for something.
Hyne's sake, Strife, where the hell have you gotten to this time?
The sun rose and work resumed to repair the city again. It was about the afternoon when Leon sense that something was wrong, but was unable to pinpoint it exactly. He checked up on the others and found them at their various duties (except Yuffie, who was playing with Rawr). They were all fine, but there was still no Cloud, or word from Zack to say he'd been found. Leon was getting closer to the edge of his nerves, and decided to go look himself when he felt it.
Small tremors were fairly common in Hollow Bastion, and Leon passed it off as one. But as a precaution, he ordered that the work stop and the people to go to somewhere safer. Then the world really started to shake, and Leon felt his legs be vibrated from under him. He hit the ground hard, all his weight going onto one hand and wrist and he felt (and heard) a sickening snap. Pain made him drop onto his belly properly until he could roll onto his back and sit up from there. At least, that's what he would have done if another large tremor had not of struck and made him lie back again to strop himself from throwing up with the motion.
Freakin' Hyne, earthquake! Hyne, the Bailey...
Leon stared up at the shaking structure above him and realized that if he didn't move soon- too late. Large chunks of solid stone were falling from the wall, heading right for him. He only felt the first block, mercifully. The others, soon to follow went unfelt as he slipped from awareness.

It took Zack until fairly late into the day to find Cloud. The blond warrior was starting to stray farther and farther from the main town in his quest for something that not even Zack knew. Cloud had remained tight lipped on this subject, not even giving out as much as a clue as to what he looked for. Depending on the object, Zack would of gladly helped look for it (the others too, especially Aerith and Leon, but this was something he refused to say).
"Hey, Spikes. You wandered pretty far this time."
Cloud was leaning on the Buster overlooking the town a few clicks out from it, on a fairly high cliff.
"Yeah."
"Find it?"
"No."
Zack nodded and fell into silence watching the man and the town. It all seemed so small from up here, as if it was the work of ants and not a hardy bunch of people trying to recreate their home. He moved to the very edge and sat, legs dangling. Cloud's face momentarily flashed with worry, but relaxed again as Zack lent back. The Buster remained solid in his grip.
A subject they had to talk about.
"Zack..."
"Hm?"
Blue eyes turned to meet his, matching each other's intensity.
"...do you want the Buster back?"
Zack shook his head slightly. He had expected this issue to come up, but he had expected it a lot earlier in his new life.
"Cloud, I gave it to you. It's yours."
"But you're back. What will you fight with?"
Zack stood and moved to Cloud. Cloud's head was bowed, lightly touching the grip and he was shaking slightly. This left Zack slightly puzzled, but he carried on.
"I... I don't want to have to fight anymore. I want to have the life I was denied before, with Aerith. If I have to, I'll fight with my body as my weapon. If I absolutely have to, if I have to protect Aerith, or you, again. But it's yours, until you decide to pass it on." He smiled reassuringly and rubbed his friend's spikes. Cloud's shaking had stopped, and his grip had tightened before swinging the Buster onto his back.
"But Cloud?"
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry I ever made you make that promise to me. Living legacy..." Zack shook his head. "It's so silly, now that I think of it."
"Zack. I'm thankful you did. It was the right thing, and I'm-"
A tremor hit them both and Cloud clung to the Buster to stay up while Zack clung to Cloud.
The second tremor struck and Zack was forced to his knees, where he could see Hollow Bastion. He gasped.
"Cloud! We have to get back- the Bailey just collapsed!"
"It'll be fine Zack. Leon would have moved everyone away from it."
"Cloud, SOLDIER instinct, I feel something is about to bite one of us in the rear, WE HAVE TO GO BACK."
Who was Cloud to argue with Zack's instincts? It had proven reliable in the past, and even Cloud was getting an uncomfortable feeling between his shoulder blades.
"Alright, let's go."

Hollow Bastion was a mess, with people scrambling all over the place. Some were searching for others, more were already clearing debris and others were helping the wounded. It looked as though an ant hill had been upturned and shaken around- which it had been, in a way. Yuffie practically bounced passed, clutching Rawr, the pair covered in plaster dust.
"Cloud, Merlin's ceiling collapsed, so we can't go back there. We have to build him a new place. Maybe we could get our own places? I'd love my own place, to get away from YOU lot!" Yuffie hugged Rawr a little more and the kitten made a noise of protest. "AHNAYWAY, either of you seen Squall? He should be running around yelling at people with orders. Meanie pants." She pouted slightly.
"He's probably overseeing work somewhere else. He'll show up."
Leon didn't show up.

Night fell, and Aerith was starting to worry a lot, even though she was exhausted from healing the wounded. So was everyone else. The night was starting to get cool, and it had been decided that they would start clearing the bigger piles of rock, at the Bailey and near the town centre, the next day.
"Nobody's seen him all day."
Aerith was chewing her lip and Cid was pacing. Zack was trying to comfort Aerith as Yuffie scrambled over ceilings to try and get a vantage point. Cloud stood almost impassively, brow creased only slightly.
"It's not like him to be away for so long, especially when he might be needed..."
The breeze was getting stronger and colder, and if he hadn't of been so wary, Cloud would never of noticed it; the scent of blood. Of Leon's blood. Plenty of it, too.
Cloud felt himself start to break into a cold sweat; Leon would never just leave a wound to bleed like that.
He turned his head to the breeze and started to follow the scent. The others didn't notice his sudden departure and would not have questioned it if they had of. After all, suddenly leaving was a 'Cloud' thing. It got stronger as he followed it, until he reached what had to be its source: the rock pile at the Bailey. The bottom of said rock pile. Cloud felt his blood drain from his face as he scrambled down to it and followed the scent to its source.
And started to dig.
He tossed the rocks over a shoulder and barely noticed when Zack and the others finally found him.
"Cloud?"
"He's down here."
Zack started to help and they managed to uncover Leon. The Leonhart was a battered mess, bleeding copiously from a gash along his skull and another, deeper one followed down his arm for a hands length- narrowly missing any major arteries, luckily. He was bruised everywhere and breathing only faintly. There was a quiet gurgling in the man's chest and a little bit of blood was frothing slightly at his lips, and he was tinged grey and blue under the bruises.
"Lee!"
Aerith dropped to next to him as she tried to call up healing magic and fail- she was completely dry. Zack shifted the last of the rubble off him and started assessing with the eye of a field medic- if he was left for too much longer, there would have been no chance of his survival. Even now that chance was quickly lowering.
"Yuffie- go back to where we're staying and grab as many potions as you can."
The young ninja nodded and rushed off, not before handing Rawr to Aerith. As Cloud watched, he could feel a part of himself start to go numb. Until now, all evidence had pointed toward Leon not being subject to the same laws of mortality did not apply to the warrior. He supposed it was a kind of shock- the last time he had seen one of his friends this close to death, it had been Zack...
He shook himself and crouched to hold and get a better look at the gash on Leon's skull.
It was long, running from crown to behind his left ear but it looked shallow and like it would heal well. Zack was trying to slow the bleeding from the gash in his left arm. Yuffie returned and Zack handed Cloud one of the potions which Cloud uncorked with his teeth and lodged into Leon's mouth and tipped gently. No point making him choke on the liquid.
"Is that all?"
"Hey! Merlin's place had collapsed, and the others had been used! You're lucky I could scrounge up two!"
Zack poured the other potion onto the cut and nodded slightly. "Alright. Thank you for getting them."
Yuffie blinked at his unusually serious tone. "...that bad, huh?"
"Yeah."
Leon groaned quietly and almost tried to sit up, but Cloud and Zack held him down. Leon stopped trying and Cloud's hands moved back to his head as Zack's ran down Leon's ribs, gently probing.
Leon hissed, the little blood in his face draining.
"Lee? You there?"
Hiss nod.
"Bite Cloud if you have to. I'm going to have to put your ribs back into place before we can move you."
Cloud moved so Leon's head was in his lap properly, forearm pressed over his mouth. Leon's eyes widened slightly, as if he was shocked at the suggestion.
"Ready, Leon? On three. One..."
There was a crack as Zack moved Leon's ribs back into place before the designated number. Leon bit into Cloud's arm deep enough to draw blood before dropping back out of awareness.

His mouth tasted bitter, and faintly of iron when he next woke. His ribs still ached and it was still hard to breathe. He groaned and opened his eyes; every muscle was stiff and sore, and his left arm tingled slightly.
"Hey." A hand was on his shoulder, preventing him from rising even if he had wanted to. Leon focused long enough to recognise Cloud before closing his eyes again. "Leon, look at me. Try and focus for longer."
Leon opened his eyes again and tried to focus on Cloud again. It took a bit of time and when he finally managed it, he flinched as Cloud shone a light in his eyes.
"Heh...called me Leon."
Cloud nodded distractedly. "Follow the finger."
They went through a few more checks including touching his fingers to his thumb on his right hand only. All of that checked out and Leon sighed slightly, head going back down.
"How do you feel?"
"...like a mad chocobo stomped me flat. Several times." He smiled slightly and Cloud sat back, removing his hand. "Why does my mouth taste funny?"
"Probably the potion."
Much more likely to be the Mako in my blood. I'm not too surprised he could handle such a diluted dose, or even that it managed to keep him from freezing while in shock. Or that it's the only reason he didn't choke on his own blood.
"Damage report...?"
Cloud propped his hand on the chair arm. "Broken ribs, one that punctured your lung and almost drowned you, cut on your left arm that is now mostly healed, you have a broken wrist and a large gash on your head."
"Anything else?"
"You're bruised almost everywhere."
"I noticed." He pulled a face and Cloud smiled very faintly.
"You'll have to stay in bed for awhile, and heal naturally. Aerith is completely out of magic, and there are no potions left."
Leon would have sighed, if that motion wouldn't cause immense pain. "I'll have to deal with it. I'd much rather heal in one piece, entirely, then move and mess up the healing process."
Cloud nodded, just watching. Leon was already back to sleep, which was probably for the best. Cloud sighed, reached and touched the stitches Aerith had put in to hold his scalp together. That had been close. Too close.
Since when did the possibility of Leon dying matter so much to him?