Yes I know this is getting updated slowly, but like I said, the more reviews the better/faster updates are made. I'm greedy like that. XP

Also, I've had couple people question me about the time line, seeing as I apparently didn't make it clear enough before. Okay, it's SLIGHTLY AU, and takes place between KH1 and KH2. Hollow Bastion is still Hollow Bastion. It's not Radiant Garden yet. Meaning in which, it's still the huge dark castle. This is kind of telling the story as to how exactly it got to look the way it does in KH2. This chapter deals a lot with the tearing-down-and-rebuilding part – and yes, there will be some Leon/Cloud interaction – key word there: interaction. I don't want to like, have them meet up, realize their sudden spontaneous love for each other and screw. That's it how it works in real life – especially with people like them, they would fall in love more slowly.

Next up; How did they get there? Like I said before, it's AU in this sense. Cloud's world, Midgar, was already completely destroyed and never restored, so he stayed in Hollow Bastion, where Aerith and Tifa resided. Sora and Riku are stuck there by chance. [This would be an alternate ending. Riku made it out of the Door, and Sora hasn't gone to 'sleep' yet.] They got stuck in Hollow Bastion, since it was the closest world; and after the restoration, world-travel had been blocked once more. So they've got no way out. And YES. THERE WILL BE RIKU/SORA PARTS, okay?

Aaaaaaand......I think that's all for now. If you've got any more questions guys, feel free to ask. ^_^ But PLEASE don't email them to me – just ask in a review. [Seeing as I got a couple of emails, s'okay, but I'd prefer to see it in a review, seeing as I don't check my email that often.]

(Leon POV)

When in need of a leader don't just sit and wait; take action.

---------------

People are Sheep's. Now, of course, I don't mean this literally or anything, but most people are Sheep's. They are quick to panic, and have an overwhelming urge to be led – hell, half the time they won't do a goddamn thing without instruction. It's as though they need someone to constantly tell them to get off their ass and do something, you know? Because without guidance they might sit around and rot themselves away.

Though, that might have been a bit hypocritical of me to say. I spent most of my morning listening to Tifa, Aerith, and Sora babble to each other in the dining hall. Sora wanted some advice with Riku again – he seems unwilling to give up. Riku is so far gone now, that I don't think that anything can bring him back. That kid submerged himself in darkness in the past; there is no way he'll ever be able to rid himself of it again. It's just like a badly addicting drug.

But it's afternoon now, and the sky is clear from the thick haze of yesterdays storm, almost as though it was never there in the first place. The grass and asphalt are still soaked, and water droplets still continue to run down the windows, the sun now completely drying them out. The weather seems to actually be nice for once........ and yet I haven't done a thing today.

I sat around at the top of the steps for a bit, talked briefly to Yuffie, and moved on to pacing through the halls. What was I doing? Is this really the end? Am I just going to go day after day, doing nothing but brooding while I rot away in this living nightmare?

Am I not even going to fight?

My whole world is slowly decaying, and yet I'm not doing a thing to stop it. Why? What's wrong with me?

3 years ago I would have done anything by any means to help others, if I knew it would improve their lives even the tiniest of bits.. Now It's as though I don't even have the motivation, nor will to even simply care about another's welfare.

Squall was a Shepard, not a Sheep.

But Leon.............I was becoming the very Sheep I detested.

My fists clench tightly at my side, as I abruptly stopped in the middle of the hall, closed doors at each of my sides. That was it. I'm done. Something has got to change, because this is just getting plain ridiculous. I am not weak, I am not pathetic. I will not sit by and watch my world fall apart before my eyes again, knowing all the while, that I can do something to stop it.

I am a Leader. I'm a Shepard.

...But where do I start?

I don't even bother using the handle as I kick the storage-room door open, dust accumulating in the air causing me to to hold my breath for a moment to keep from coughing. I had two candle holders in each hand; 4 candles lit altogether, 2 on each holder. But here, in the darkness of the castle's lowest levels, something that small provided more than enough lighting to complete my task.

Long ago, we had began to consider the basement as something of a storage area; seeing as it held all of our spare weapons, some wood, furniture, and other miscellaneous items we might have need of. And everything down there, I guarantee I'll find some use of it all.

Placing the candles on a nearby dust coasted end-table, I glanced around for a moment, my eyes scanning over the cluttered room before taking sight of my area of interest. Approaching said opposite end of the room, I slid my hands around the hilt of one of the several sledge hammers that lay propped up against the stone wall. Frowning a little, I hoisted the tool upon my shoulder, bearing it's weight easily as I grabbed up another in my spare hand. With my strength, this really shouldn't take too long, I was hoping to have most of it all unloaded upstairs by the end of the night.

I was only about an hour and a half later, when I had stacks upon stacks of wood piled along in the main hall, with boxes of tools scattered among them, that someone finally came across me. I had a thin sheet of plywood under one arm, and a box of nails in the other, when I turned to see Cloud Strife standing before me with a rather unreadable expression. Setting said items down, I met his blank gaze head on, wandering whether or not he might say something first. Like, "What exactly are you doing?" or "Are you starting to rebuild?"

But when he showed no indication of saying anything, I decided to make the first move. ".......What?" I asked, keeping my eyes locked on his, not even daring to back down. It was unnerving; the way he stared at me, his face set in stone, eyes completely unblinking. He seemed so......lost. Like he wasn't exactly in this place, at this current time. I wanted to know what was going though that head of his – what words he thought of.

I blinked at him. He stared back.

Neither of us moved.

Had he even heard me? Does he know that I asked him a question, or is he just ignoring me?.........Does he even realize that I'm standing right in front of him?

".........Uh....Cloud?" I asked, looking at him a little more curiously now. This time however, I received a response, despite how confusing it may be.

Cloud Strife blinked a few times, eyes now seeming a tad bit clearer, as he lifted his head a bit; less downcast than before. ".....I.........Did you say something?" He said, his voice keeping that same soft monotone it always had. I never knew why, exactly, but Cloud had always seemed to hold this intense sadness about him; and intense sadness, mixed with a deep anger.

He had always sounded, and seemed so utterly impatient and depressed, like there was weight upon weight dropped upon his shoulders until could no longer lift his head to look, or even care about the world before him. Never in my life had I come across someone so melancholy, so seemingly empty before – which, in a sense completely contradicts him. While he may seem depressed, he is also extremely diligent and cocky. Sometimes he could turn into a complete asshole without warning, and whenever engaged in combat, he does not give up. He won't. He'll keep fighting until his body gives out.

I shook my head a little, furrowing my eyebrows at him. "Cloud are you alright?" I replied. Where did he go just now? Somewhere in his head, thats for sure.

He lowered his face a little, not meeting me in the eye. A clear sign of avoidance. "Yeah. I'm fine." he said in a tone that clearly stated 'don't push it'.

Placing a hand on my hip, as I shifted my weight, I glanced from a stack of wood, to the blond before me. "What are you doing over here – I thought you were with Aerith?"

He looks up this time, but still doesn't meet my eye. ".....My room is right there." He says, pointing to one of the doors just a few feet behind him the the hall. "I was in there.......I, uh......I just heard a noise. I didn't know what it was."

"Yeah, I guess that was me." I said, nodding at his response. I guess that did made sense; I was being a bit loud with the wood, now that I thought about it.

There was an awkward silence at this. Part of me expected him to say....well, something, but I was only rewarded with nothing as he continued to stare down to the side.

This is one of the many things I did not like about Cloud Strife. He could not keep a conversation to save his life, and because of that, it often lead to incredibly awkward situations. It's seemed like no one ever knew just what exactly to say to him. And when he met your eye, he just eerily stared as though he wasn't really seeing you.

I cleared my throat, turning back toward the basement door, before looking over to him for a moment. "I should get back to what I was doing."

Cloud finally meets my eye for a brief moment, before quickly glancing away again. "Right, I should....go."

I responded with a curt nod, as he walked back down the hall to his room. I turn back around and head down the to the basement once more.

A grunt emits from my throat, my biceps tightening as I tried my best to keep the refrigerator held up before me. Yes, that's right, a refrigerator. The was an extra one stored down here, and it went unused due to fact that we already had one upstairs. But, it's not like we could even use that one anyway; we had no running source of power. At least not yet. I plan on installing, and hooking up a system at some point.

Setting the refrigerator down a few feet away, I exhaled heavily, panting a little bit as I placed my hands on my knees, my muscles screaming as I caught my breath. That felt good – really good. I forgot how much I love exerting myself – in anyway possible. I think I might grab my gun blade and go out to train a bit later.

A slight grin curved at my lips. I can't believe this. I'm feeling more.....alive. Like I've got some sort of spirit again. Was this all it took? Getting off my ass and doing something useful towards this world again?

I sighed deeply, standing up straight, as I walked back to the empty spot that the refrigerator once sat at. I had originally planned on clearing out whatever was behind it, but it ended up hitting a wall. "Huh." I mumbled. Well, at least I found one end to the room.

I moved to the side, ready to start grabbing up more boxes and spare wood, before something caught my eye. I hadn't seen it clearly before, since my body shadowed to wall, seeing as the candles were behind me, but the moment I moved, the wall gained more light, and I could see it clearly.

The wall was different colored. It was a slightly lighter shade than that of the fine stone wall around it – and that wasn't even taking into fact that the lighter part looked much smoother. It was cement. Someone had filled in a doorway with cement, blocking passage though.

There was another room behind there.

I lifted a gloved hand, running it over the rough surface of the cemented door, sliding my hand across it until I reached the uneven bumps of the shapely Victorian rock.

There's no way that I could possibly take it down with my gun blade. It doesn't have the brute strength necessary for something like this. I could probably use one of the sledgehammers, but they would be more suited for taking down regular walls, not solid blocks of cement. There was no telling how thick it was either.

I closed my eyes in thought for a moment, trying to decide on my best method, before it finally hit me. Cloud. While he may not be 'all there' he does sure as hell have brute strength packed away in that buster sword of his. It's been about 2 hours since I talked to him in the hall, so there's no telling where he's at now. My best bet, however, would be to check his room, then to go and find Aerith.

My boots thumped slightly against the dusty basements steps as I made my way back up to the first level. I glanced down the hall for a moment, trying to remember exactly what room it was that Cloud was talking about before. Walking a few doors down, I took hold of a knob at random, and walked in.

I ended up getting it on the first try though, when I saw the Buster Sword propped up in the corner on the far side of the room. But no sign of Cloud Strife himself.

He had a couple of wall-torches lit, keeping the lighting rather adequate, as I entered a little farther in, trying to double check that he wasn't somewhere I couldn't see. As I looked around, I noted to myself just exactly how bare the room seemed. There was nothing personal about the place at all – no warming feeling, just his sword, a dresser, as desk, and a neatly made bed that was – ........hold on.

I paused briefly, furrowing my eyebrows slightly as I approached his perfectly made bed. Setting upon it was and open photo-album, it's leather binding worn; the pages yellowing with age around the edges. Frowning, I knelt at the bedside, pulling the book a little closer so I could see it more clearly.

On the pages that were open, one side was a picture of a very young version of Cloud; his eyes were wide and bright, as he smiled shyly to the camera, seeming so unsure and self-conscious of himself. However, he looked the complete opposite of the male next to him, who had his arm draped around Clouds shoulder in a half-hug. His hair was raven, with long straight and neat bangs in the front that framed his face, whilst the back consisted of wild and untidy spikes. He looked so confidant – so lively, violet eyes showing childish humor as he grinned mischievously.

On the opposite page was Cloud, the raven, and a young Aerith; all of them sitting on a blanket in a field of yellow and white flowers. Aerith was holding the camera up before herself, positioning it down so that they all fit neatly together. Her hair was down, soft brown curls falling around her shoulders, laughing gently as the raven was pulling an equally laughing Cloud into a playful headlock.

I had never seen Cloud laugh before – or smile, for that matter.

Suddenly I felt very out of place. I shouldn't be in here - I was invading his privacy.

Frowning a little in disgust at myself and my own nosiness, I moved the album back to its original position, straightening up as I exited the room, heading down the hall towards the living room, continuing my search for the blond in question.

Upon entering the living room, the first thing to catch my attention was Sora, deep in thought on the couch, his knees drawn up to his chest with his head slightly lowered. Under normal circumstance, I usually tried to help him with his problems, or at least give him someone to talk to man-to-man, when to overly kind words of Aerith and Tifa frustrated him. Sometimes he just needed someone to be honest, and blunt; to tell him the reality, and not false hopes. Cid sometimes came in handy in the department, when he wasn't currently out in the town, yelling at the local dwellers there.

There is only so much I can do for Sora, though. Riku was in such a bad state, that I don't think he'll ever make a full recovery from the darkness within him. It spreads like a poison in his veins.

Nowadays, Riku keeps himself locked away within his bedroom, not even coming out for things like food and water, Sora has to bring it to him instead. When it had become painfully obvious that Riku showed no sign of leaving, Sora grabbed himself up a futon, and now currently sleeps on the floor in Riku's bedroom, instead of keeping his own place.

I continued on, leaving him to his thoughts, as I pocketed one of my hands. Tifa and Yuffie were having 'girl-talk' in the Dining Room, with Cid sitting with them..... chatting along?? It's a rarity to see him putting up with Yuffie's jabbering. I could see perfectly how forced Yuffie's smile was, how hollow their laughs sounded; and it seemed as if they too, had given up hope. I turned my attention away from them, and continued my search.

I ended up finding Cloud and Aerith a few minutes later in the small garden that was kept outside. Aerith was sitting on her knees in the grass, her dress smoothed out neatly over her thighs, while she tended to a small patch in the garden that held an assortment of yellow and white flowers. Cloud sat next to her, legs bent before him with his elbows resting on his knees, as his slowly spun a picked white and yellow flower between his fingers. Neither of them talked, as it seemed that they merely enjoyed each others company; I had always known that Aerith had a strange sort of power of Cloud – everyone knew that. She was almost like that of a mother figure for him.

Approaching the two, I watched as they turned to see me, the sound of my steps catching their attention. "Aerith, Cloud." I greeted as they fully turned, but didn't stand up. Aerith smiled and nodded back in greeting, Cloud did nothing.

"I need your assistance with something." I said, looking down at the blond, as he stared back with an eyebrow raised. "Actually, I just need your sword."

I finally got a response from him, as he crossed his arms, in an uninterested manner. "What for?" He questioned back.

"Ah....." I started, not knowing what to say. Gee, Cloud, I don't know, I just suddenly got the urge to DO something with my fucking life, and right now, there is a cement wall blocking it, and I need you to use your fancy sword to tear it down. "There is something in the basement that I need to do, but my gun blade lacks the brute force necessary to do it."

We stared each other down, as moments ticked by, and I found myself thinking just how unusual this was. Just a few hours before, Cloud was hesitant, distant, and he couldn't even meet my eye. Now he was acting more apathetic, impatient, and his eyes were perfectly clear and grounded. Which Cloud was the real one? That nervous and awkward one, or this forceful and blunt one?

Cloud shook his head though, turning back to the garden in an irritated fashion. "Not interested." He spoke, his voice perfectly displaying just how annoyed he was that someone had interrupted his peace.

I mentally sighed, starting to loose patience myself over him and his attitude. "Look, I've been bringing all that shit up from the basement, because I want to start rebuilding this world. I'll do it by myself, if I have too, all I'm asking is that you tear down a cement door. That's it, okay?"

He kept his back to me, not giving any response of the like, as it seemed he was perfectly bent on ignoring me until I left, but Aerith chose this moment to butt in, giving him a light smack on the arm. "Cloud." She said sternly, giving him a look. "Go help him."

Cloud continued to ignore me, but did turn his head to look at Aerith a little. She crossed her arms at him, seeming more and more like a mother over the past few minutes, and Cloud was her disobeying son. "Cloud."

This time however, Cloud finally caved at Aerith's tone, and moved to stand up. "Fine, I'll help you." He said moodily.

I nodded to Aerith in a gesture of 'thank you', and she smiled back with a nod. Looking back to Cloud, he met my gaze stubbornly, his turquoise eyes clearly showing just how irritated he was at the moment. Turning away from him, I started back inside, I shook my head to myself as Cloud quickly walked so he was at my side, not wanting to trail behind and seem as though he were subordinate to me.

Maybe this was the real Cloud. Maybe he was just an asshole like me, only more of the apathetic and disinterested kind. Or maybe he just generally didn't like me, and I pissed him off.

But then again, it didn't matter to me. Once he knocks that cement block down, he can go back to sitting angrily in the window panes like he usually did.