On the Way to a Smile

by Regiss

Axel made a promise that he'd always be there to bring them back, but now Lea finds that he can't remember who one of "them" was. With his heart weighed down by guilt, Lea will do anything to get his friend back—and his memories with her. Part 3 of Remember the Tides.

2. At Dusk I Will Think of You

Chapter 2: At Dusk I Will Think of You

On Akademeia's third floor was a coffee shop built right into the school for ease of access. It had started as one of the Restoration Committee's workers just setting up a coffee pot during the construction of the building, and quickly grew to a hangout for them, and soon students who moved into Akademeia's dorms when they had nowhere else to go. By the time the school had been finished building, the coffee shop had become a mainstay of the building. Now it was a popular hangout not only for the students in the dorms, but for those who lived beyond the school grounds as well.

At the oval-shaped counter in the center of the room, Ventus handed over some munny to Montblanc, the Moogle barista who wore an apron several sizes too big for him. As he turned around with one cup in each hand, he slipped past some more students needing a pick-me-up after hours of staring out the window and pretending to write notes. He crossed the freshly polished brown ceramic floor, moving past chatting students who sat at tables or on sofas, as he made his way to Yuffie over at a window. There was a door nearby that led out to a balcony overlooking Akademeia's courtyard, but it was completely filled up already.

Ven came to a stop as he approached Yuffie, though, and immediately felt his face heating up. "W-What are you doing?"

Yuffie looked up at Ven with a raised eyebrow. "What?" She followed his line of sight and looked down at her hands, which were in the middle of unbuttoning the black top of her school uniform. "Relax, Ven. I'm wearing a shirt under it. This coat is just so itchy." Yuffie sighed happily as she slipped the coat off and hung it over the back of her chair.

Ven smiled slightly and sat down. "Well anyway, here's your—"

"Awesome, caffeine me up!" Yuffie swiped her cup from Ven's hands and took a long swig of it before slamming it down onto the table and letting out a breath. "Oohhh, I needed that!"

Ven smiled behind his own hot chocolate. "So I guess you're not going to pay me back for it, huh?"

Yuffie playfully wagged her finger at him. "I told you, as my junior you get the honor of buying the Great Ninja Yuffie's coffee! Don't worry, kiddo: In another year or two, you'll be bossing your own juniors around!"

"Teach me the ways of the bossy upperclassman, Miss Yuffie," Ven said with a mock bow.

Yuffie smugly jabbed her thumb toward herself. "Well first you gotta be as good-looking as I am!"

"Oh, I get it, you've got to lie."

"Hey, watch it!" Yuffie leaned forward, keeping herself propped up with one hand on the table, and flicked Ven on the forehead. As Ven rubbed his forehead with a grimace, Yuffie bounced back into her seat and crossed her legs. "So, how've things been with you, Ven?" she asked after another gulp of coffee.

Ven propped his cheek up on his fist and looked down at his cup of hot chocolate. "We're getting along fine. Things are still kinda weird, but definitely not as much as they were when I first woke up."

"That first week or so you were like a zombie."

"I was super tired, it's like waking up from a full twelve hours only twelve years." Ven shook his head and shrugged."It's still hard to believe I missed so much time. A lot has changed, and while you guys saw it happen I just woke up one day with everything new."

"Radiant Garden sure has at least, though we're getting back there under Leon and Reeve. What other worlds have changed since then?"

Another shake of his head. "It's not the worlds, really. I haven't actually left Radiant Garden too often since we got here, not even to see the Land of Dep—" He caught himself. "…Castle Oblivion. It's more like, I dunno, just all the changes in general. Seeing things like Lea all grown up, Xehanort gone, Terra gone…and you remember how awkward it was when I met Sora."

Yuffie visibly cringed. "Awkward is an understatement."

Ven found himself nodding. Yeah, more than just a bit of one for sure. "Aqua's been kind of an anchor for me since she isn't much different, though I can't imagine how hard her time in the Realm of Darkness was."

Yuffie had an uncharacteristically sad smile on her face as she looked down at her own cup of coffee, already almost empty. "It's kind of hard for me to comprehend, though I think I get where you're coming from. So!" She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, her smile growing. "Tell me some happier stuff, Ven. How are you getting along here at school?"

Ven looked down and felt his ears burning lightly at the question. He glanced aside at the other students all around, caught up in their own conversations, then peered out the window at the few students down in the courtyard who hadn't gone home for the day yet. "It's…different. I still can't remember what world I came from or what my life was like before the Keyblade, so I had gone in expecting things to be like when I trained under Master Eraqus."

"How's that?"

"It was just me, Terra, and Aqua, so the Master had a lot of time to give each of us private lessons. And when he didn't, we'd all train together." Not to mention all the other stuff they did as a trio; Ven found himself growing somber as he remembered just playing around with the two of them, or when they'd destroy the castle's kitchen making cake and then eat it under the stars. "I hadn't expected so many people here though, not even just in the school but in the classes alone. The teachers just stand up in front and don't get involved at all, and you barely interact with the people sitting next to you. It's weird, but I guess I should've seen it coming."

"Tell me about it, everyone here is so dull. We haven't even had any crazy high school parties yet!" Yuffie huffed.

"Huh?"

But Yuffie shook her head. "Never mind." She tossed her empty coffee cup into the nearest trash can then turned back to Ven. "Honestly, it's not really what I had expected either. I mean, I went to school before this all, of course, and I remember it, but I was super young. School back then was a far cry from how school is now."

"Is it too hard for you?"

It was an honest question, but Yuffie sputtered for a moment and then, cheeks red, once again leaned forward and flicked Ven on the forehead. "The Great Ninja Yuffie has no problems with anything!" She fell back into her chair and crossed her arms. "But no, it's not that. I guess just, while growing up in Traverse Town I always envisioned these years of school the way I saw on TV or read in books."

Ven couldn't resist another jab. "You read books?"

"I'll choose to ignore that," Yuffie said quickly before continuing as if she hadn't been interrupted. "But everyone here is just so…boring. Where's the drama? The romance? The trio of snobby rich girls?"

Ven snorted. "Sounds like you were a little too into chick flicks while growing up."

"How the heck do you even know what those are, Mister 'I lived alone in a castle with three people'?"

"There was still a town nearby!" Ven recalled it clearly: down the steep mountain paths and about an hour away. It was small, but it was lively. Briefly, a nervous thought occurred to him: what happened to the people there when Aqua had locked the Land of Departure away? "And I mean, we didn't train all day every day. We had our hobbies."

Yuffie raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me big, powerful, almighty Keyblade Master Aqua watched chick flicks?"

"I-I'm not saying anything." Ven tried to look as nonchalant as possible and turned away while taking another drink. Aqua had ears like a hawk, and somehow Ven knew she'd find out they were talking about her even though she wasn't even at Akademeia.

An awkward moment passed before Yuffie then asked, "How is Aqua anyway?"

"…Good. She's good." And she was. After Ven and Aqua had arrived in Radiant Garden following Ven's awakening, the two of them tried their best to make a life for themselves in the city. They lived together in a house not too far from Merlin's and helped out with the Restoration Committee whenever they needed a few extra help. After things started clearing up and Ven had started going to Akademeia, Aqua busied herself in the day doing odd jobs around town, usually for Scrooge, sometimes for Cid. But, at nights…

"Sometimes I'll find Aqua awake in the middle of the night, just staring at her Wayfinder" Ven said softly. He remembered the image clearly the first time he had seen it. He had gotten up to get a glass of water and Aqua was in their living room, sitting in a chair with her knees pulled up to her chest, illuminated by the soft blue glow of the star-shaped charm in her hand.

Yuffie glanced at the green charm hanging from Ven's belt. "Is it…?"

She didn't need to finish. Ven nodded. "Aqua doesn't know that I've seen her there and she puts on a strong front during the day, but it's happening more frequently. We still have no idea where Terra even is, and we haven't seen him since I woke up on the Destiny Islands—if that even was him."

Yuffie frowned deeply, confused. "You haven't even tried once to go out and find him?"

"Of course I have!" Ven snapped, insulted by the very idea that he wouldn't. But he pulled back immediately upon the realization he had shouted that and people were staring. Letting out a sigh, Ven rubbed his arm. "I've tried, anyway. But Aqua has chased after me every time and brought me back. Says she doesn't want anything to happen to me."Same old story there, but this time Ven honestly had to agree with her. As much as he wanted to find Terra, the two of them really only had each other to fall back on.

"Sounds like a caring big sister you got there," Yuffie said.

Now it was Ven's turn to be confused. "Aqua and I aren't related."

"I didn't say you were!" she replied with a light giggle. "But you don't need to be. Listen, back in Traverse Town, when I was really little, Aerith would hound me day and night. She wasn't even that much older than we are now; heck, I think she was even younger! And she'd hound me day and night, making sure I didn't go off wandering town alone." Uncharacteristically, Yuffie had a sheepish look on her face. "One day I got so fed up with it I exploded at her. I asked what her deal was, why she didn't let me do anything. She said looking out for little sisters was what big sisters did."

Ven wasn't much for deep thinking, but he thought he got the gist of was about to respond when Yuffie jumped to her feet and pushed her chair back with a clatter.

"Anyway, come on! We better get going." Already she was tying her previously discarded jacket around her waist and picking up her back.

"Going where?" Ven hurried to follow Yuffie's example, fumbling for his own bag while also carrying the hot chocolate he hadn't quite finished.

Yuffie was already heading out the door by the time Ven had just pushed his seat in. "Home, where else?! I had my coffee and now I wanna get out of this place! 'Higher learning' my ass!"

x-x-x

"Come on, Sora! We gotta run!" Goofy pleaded.

"The Heartless are coming!" Donald added as he tugged on Sora's arm.

"Kairi…" Sora whispered, rubbing his eyes and staring at the charm in his hands. "Not again…"

Goofy managed to pull Sora to his feet, but he didn't move otherwise. "If ya don't move now you'll never be able to save her!"

"You'll see her again, but only if you run now!" Donald's voice was pleading, breaking. "Kairi wouldn't want you to give up because of her, Sora!"

Sora looked up from the charm and stared at his long time companions, but said nothing and moved his eyes to his feet instead. Still, when Donald and Goofy took his hands and began running he didn't resist.

"Come on, Lea!" Goofy cried as they ran past him and out onto the walls. Lea grimaced and looked toward the far end of the room, where the first of the Heartless were starting to emerge: Eliminators. Xehanort was bringing out the toughest Heartless he had for them.

"Someone has to hold them off, or they'll catch up…" he realized, looking to the retreating figures of Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

Whoosh.

Lea knew that sound. The sound of a Nobody manifesting. He grimaced as the humanoid figure appeared, two swords in its hands.

Allow me.

"No way!" Lea shouted at the Samurai, the last Samurai. His last link to Roxas. "There have been enough losses today! No more!"

Allow me to do my duty.

"No way, I forbid it!" Lea ran in front of the Samurai, but it vanished into thin air and then reappeared behind him in turn, closer still to the Heartless swarm. Wizards and Novashadows had joined the Eliminator. "You aren't allowed to die, damn it!"

"Lea!" Sora burst into the room and grabbed him by the wrist. "What are you still doing back here?! We have to go, now!"

"Hey, that's…" Sora looked up at the stoic silver Nobody as it drew his swords, understanding on his face. He shook his head at Lea and pulled him back to the door. "I think its made up its mind, Lea. And if you won't make up yours, then I'm deciding for you. Come on!"

It has been an honor to fight alongside you.

The last thing Lea saw of the Samurai was a red dog-faced shield coming down upon it and a horrifying, trembling battle cry:

"KWEH!"

Kweh?

"KWEH!"

Lea's eyes snapped open and he found himself staring into the face of terror itself. With blue eyes that bored into his soul and a golden crown protruding from its head, the beast was like something out of a nightmare. It reared back and spread its massive wings wide, then scraped its deadly taloned feet against the earth and opened its horrifying beak.

"Kweh!"

Letting out a startled cry at the razor-clawed monster, Lea scurried back and tried to climb up to his feet, scattering hay everywhere as he did so. In his hurry his foot slipped, knocking him backwards and pinning him against the wooden planks of the back wall while the vicious creature approached. Holding his hand out, Lea conjured a ball of flame and tried to hide his relief as the beast halted, its beak that could gore a man opening and closing as it investigated the flame.

"Easy, now. Steady." Lea continued to hold the fire toward the beast, not keeping his eyes off of it as he slowly reached his free hand up, grabbed at a gap in the planks, and pulled himself up. Still disoriented and questioning how he got here, Lea spared a moment to break away from the savage beast and take in surroundings. He was in a closed wooden space with hay littering the ground, and the only exit, a gate, had the beast standing between him and it.

He couldn't actually use the fire, this whole place would go up in flames with him in it. Holding the fireball toward the beast, he slowly began to sidestep his way along the wall, doing his best to reach the gate without touching the fiendish creature. When Lea had to dismiss the fireball to steady himself, however, the creature let out another cry and moved toward him, sticking its face in his and practically knocking Lea over with its feathery body.

"H-Hey! Get off of me! I'm warning you, I can and will set this place on fire!"

"Aww, Boco's just saying hello!"

Stopping his struggling for a moment by grabbing the beast's beak and keeping it snapped shut, Lea looked over the shoulder of the monster and saw a newcomer leaning on the gate with a smile and messy brown hair.

"…I'm not a fan of chocobos," Lea grumbled as he nervously slipped past the creepy, horse-sized bird and moved toward the gate. "And who are you?"

Still smiling, the stranger rested his chin in both hands as he leaned his elbows on the gate. "I think I should probably be the one asking that question." He stood up and undid the padlock on the gate, letting Lea out and giving an unobstructed view of the slim brunet dressed in white and blue. As Lea left the chocobo's stable, the stranger patted it on the head and fed it a handful of gysahl greens. "I'm Bartz Klauser, I'm the stable boy for these guys. And this is my good pal Boco!"

"Kweh!" Boco's cry spat up a gysahl green onto Lea's shoulder, and he peeled off the disgusting, slobber-covered plant to drop it on the hay.

"Name's Lea."

Bartz's mouth formed into an "o" and he brought his fist down into his open palm. "Oh! Lea like the Lea who helps the Restoration Committee out, that Lea?"

Lea couldn't help but grin. "Oh, so my reputation is starting to precede me, huh?"

Bartz's eyes suddenly hardened, a deep frown crossed his face, and he pressed two fingers to his forehead. When he spoke, his voice was much lower—and much more familiar. "'That Lea sure does pick the worst times to run off. Doesn't he know that we're short-handed for this project as is?'"Lea blinked as Bartz reverted to his previous good-natured self and laughed. "I heard that from Leon a while back."

Lea chuckled. "Well, you're damn good at impressions, I'll give you that. Sounded just like him. Though I'm not part of the Committee, I just give 'em a hand from time to time."

"Yeah, I figured it was like that or else Leon'd be a lot angrier about you slacking off." Lea snorted before Bartz continued. "And thanks, I've been practicing! Here, how about this." Bartz spread his legs apart and placed his hands on his hips. Once more his expression shifted completely from that of a jovial jokester, this time to a smug smirk as he stared down his nose at Lea. "'No one can stop me, I'm the best, most attractive person around!'"

As opposed to before, Bartz's voice had this time successfully gone several pitches higher. Lea let out a low, impressed whistle and slowly clapped his hands. "Hey there, Yuffie."

Bartz broke character and pumped a fist in the air. "Awesome, you guessed right away! That means I'm getting good!"

"Sorry, I was saying hi to her." Lea pointed a finger and Bartz whirled around to see two oncoming teenagers wearing the Akademeia uniform, both of them watching with confusion.

"Oh! H-Hey, Yuffie!" Bartz laughed awkwardly and backed up as they approached.

"'Most attractive', huh?" Yuffie perfectly mimicked Bartz's earlier mimicry of her. "Glad to hear it!"

"I-I mean, I was just trying to copy your ego…"

"My what?!"

Yuffie began to chase the chocobo keeper around to the sound of Boco's laughing kwehs, but her companion didn't join in. Ventus walked over to Lea and investigated the hay in his hair and on his back. "Were you lying in the chocobo pens?"

Lea grimaced and brushed some of the hay off then started working on his hair. "I spent the better part of the night there, apparently."

'Apparently'?" Ven replied with a laugh.

"Man, I don't even know." Lea gave up on getting the hay out of his hair piece by piece and just ruffled both his hands through the red locks, making a mess but getting the job done. "I had a really weird dream that woke me up in the middle of the night. I went for a walk and I guess at some point I musta passed out in that chicken coop."

"What was it?"

"Huh?"

"The dream. What was it about?"

"Uh…" Lea frowned. What was the dream about? He could barely even remember, he just recalled waking up feeling sick and like he had misplaced something—something important. "Well, let's see… I was in Twilight Town, talking to Roxas, and we talked about just random stuff. Just shooting the breeze, you know. Then, hm…"

What had he seen after that? Lea didn't even know himself, even with what vague recollections he had. After Roxas had vanished, all of Twilight Town had gone with it. He'd been somewhere dark, but where exactly it was—if it was anywhere at all—Lea couldn't tell. He'd been ankle-dep in seawater, of that Lea could be sure. And there was ticking like a clock, and something about a fox, or a bear…? Flashes of black hair, too. Then he'd just woken up scared.

"Sorry, Ven. I honestly don't remember much of anything about it."

Ven shrugged. "Well, a dream is just a dream, usually. Even nightmares."

"Yeah, I guess so. Sure did a number on me to wake me up like that, though." Lea rolled his neck and shoulders, trying to fight off the stiffness from his rest in the chocobo pen. "I usually sleep like a log." A pause, then he looked down at the short blond. "So, where are you headed off to? Home?"

Ven shook his head. "Nah, Aqua wouldn't be home yet and I don't want to just hang out by myself. I'm headed over to Merlin's with Yuffie."

Hearing her name, Yuffie got up off of Bartz who she had pinned to the ground and jogged over to the two of them. "Yup! You wanna come along, Lea?"

"What about me?" Bartz whined from the ground behind her.

"I didn't invite you!" Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him then turned back to Lea and continued on as if Bartz hadn't spoken up. "Well?"

"…Actually, yeah, that sounds good." Lea rolled his shoulders one more time then motioned for Yuffie and Ven to lead the way. "Later, Butz!"

"H-Hey! It's Bartz!" Bartz sighed as they went off without him, then shrugged and smiled. "Oh well. You win some you lose some, right Boco?"

"Kweh!"

Trailing behind Yuffie and Ven, Lea's focus was more internal than external as he continued to try and dredge up what he could about his dream last night. He didn't normally dwell on them, but something about this one just bugged him really badly. Like there was some piece of it clawing at the back of his mind, calling out for him to remember it.

Let's see…

Dark, unknown area. Ankle-high water. An echoing, ticking clock. A bear, a fox…not the animals, no. Masks. Masks of five different animals were visible through the darkness, on the edge of—of light, yes. It was daybreak, wherever he was. But in the other direction, away from the masks, was the source of the echoing ticks. A figure in the Organization's black coat, short, maybe a tad taller than Roxas. In his hand he held onto the limp arm of—

b̴̦̝̙̤̼͆͒̔ͣ̍̓ͬ͋l̼̟̍̄ͦͨ̆͆ͬ̊̀͝a̡̞̮̟̝̮ͤ̂̽̎́͑c̻͓͉̜̗͍̟̪̮͆̋ͦ̿̍͑̊͠k̨̹̰̀̈̉ͦ̾͒ͩ̓ ̹͙͔̄ͨ͢h̡͔̟̜̪ͩ͗̈́ͦ̊͑ͪͥͅą̥̝̎̈́͗ͨ͞i̧͚̣̿̏̐͟r̤̮̩̼ͧͯ̉͟,̧̜̯̻̘̠͙̥̩̳̌̓̌ͤ̓ͥ͋͘ ̸̩̭̫͊͌̀̍ͅb͕͇̰͈̳̫ͩ͂̌l̈́ͤ͒̐ͪ̑ͥ҉̟̼͟u̵̪̎̇̂͗̃̆e̻̼̼͌͆̓̂́́̚͡ ͭ҉̟̫̠͇̻ͅe̛ͨ̋҉̲̜̠̟͓y͙̭̱͚̱̪ͪͨͯ̿͡e͔̻̗͔͉͇͈ͧ̔̂̊́͝ͅs̘̫͔̲̺̙̭̙̱̀ͥͣ̄̈́̔̅ͬ,̸̨̡͚̮̳͋̂ͣ̀̋ͬ̆ ͖̤̣͖̳͍̞̺̏̋ͣ̂̾͘ͅs̸͓̆ͮͬ̕t̬͕̟̙͍̥̂̕͞a̦̳ͬ͂ͫ̊̉ͧ̊t̡̩͎̐̌̋̽͋̒͘ỉ̡͈̮̩̹ͮ̾̾̓̽̓̋̌͟c̵̰̪̜̠̖͎̞͙̍͑̆̅ͨͭ͂

Weapons clashed. Lea's own chakrams and a familiar gunblade. Squall's. They were surrounded by blue stone, fighting on one of the mountain paths leading into the Great Maw outside of town. Lea remembered the fight vividly, it had been when Maleficent and Organization XIII had pitted their forces against each other. But why was it in his dre—

Leon started to grind his teeth in frustration. This conversation wasn't getting him anywhere. "What is it the Organization is after here, anyway? Why is this war being fought?"

Axel shrugged. "To take the Heartless from Maleficent, and also to get X͗͒͊̾͏̷̡̮į͉͈̪͙̫̲̣̦͂̏͠͞ǫ̪͙̪̼̬̯͎̩̯̎ͥ̋̈͡n̫̳͉̞͈͒̔̏͛ and Sora to…never mind. I'm not telling."

"X̃̓̑̏ͯͧ̉ͭ͞͏̣̗̼̣͖̞ͅí̮̫͇͖̼͙̣̇̀ͨơ̇ͫ̑҉̭̭̱ńͭ̈̆̉҉͖͍͕ and Sora? What do you guys have planned?"

Axel scoffed. "Heh, 'you guys…' Sorry, but you've got it all wrong this time. I'm done with them. Where's X̸̰͖̲̄͋͌̒̅͐̍͂i̷̧ͦ̾ͯ҉̻̟̻o̷͙̺̺̮̬ͫ̂n̛̹̹̭̪͉̋ͥͧ̉ͦͪͭ̕? You seen ḧ́̐̇͐͞͏̵̱̭̦̻̠͓̲̙e̠̯̋̿̓̄͠rͨ̋ͤ҉̛͖͈̹̫̯̳̤͖̀ around?"

"Why should I tell you?" Leon's finger was on Revolver's trigger. He was ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Because as long as the Organization is near, s̡̖̓͋̃̐ḣ̶̳̦̦̯̰̹͈̣ͩ̋̍e̻͚͍̱͈͕͊͛͞ͅͅ'̧̣̳̹͎̹̮̠ͯ̈ͮ͑̆͜͝ŝ̮͗͋ͧ̊̄ͮ̕͜͡ in danger."

"Why do you care?"

Axel sighed, walked right up to Leon, and looked him in the eyes. "Because s͊̃ͪ̏ͧ̑͏̧̲̙̜̗̮h̴̳̻̯͍͉̱̓̀e͌͏͉̤̱̘̰̯'̵͉̱̫̮̞͍̳͍ͭ̑ͥͧ̃͌̽̚͢͡ş̺̙̼͖̲̼̰͇̾̈́ my friend."

Lea grasped at his head. A name… Whose name? A friend? He only had two friends there in Hollow Bastion that day, Sora and… Saïx. Saïx, who had killed Axel during that battle when he had stepped in to save Sora. Was it Saïx he had spoken about to Squall? That was the only person who it possibly could be.

Lea grimaced. He had to talk to Squall.

x-x-x

Reeve sighed and rubbed his face. "I'm just trying to be a team player here."

"And I'm telling you you're the only one on that team, Reeve."

"Leon, be reasonable!" Reeve held his hands out imploringly. "The slums have plagued our world for nearly a century now. It's about time we cleaned them up, and we need the room. There's a lot more than students living in Akademeia's dorms, for example!

"Reeve, how am I not being reasonable? The people need priorities. Everyone has a place to live, even if we are lacking for space at the moment. What we need to focus on is stable food and water."

Reeve almost looked like he was about to protest, then slumped back into his seat. "Fine, let's talk about that for now, then. But I'm not giving up on this priority, Leon."

"I admire your devotion, I'll give you that." Leon tapped a spot on the map of Radiant Garden; a map not just of the city, but its surroundings as well. "We're currently raising chocobos with the help of an expert. He's a weird guy, but he knows his stuff. Once they're fit, we can send them off to the farms in the east and start the hard work."

Reeve nodded and tugged on his goatee. "That'd boost production for sure. But what about this? What are we going to do for water supply?" He turned his attention to a large section south of the city. Radiant Garden had been built on the shores of Lake Poescas, which was fed by a multitude of rivers coming from the snowy southern mountains. Eventually that lake had become the Rising Falls, but now it was gone. Unfortunately, the world had been so inundated with darkness that even being restored by Kingdom Hearts hadn't been able to bring everything back. Lake Poescas was just a dried lakebed now, and the snow-capped peaks weren't so snow-capped anymore to provide the water that had formed it. "As you know, we're just gathering water from rain and nearby streams. It's not enough."

"Aqua and Merlin are helping a bit, but they can only conjure so much." Leon moved the map aside and held up some notes on Materia manufacturing. "What do you think of this, Reeve?"

Reeve frowned and took the papers. His frown deepened even more as he examined them. "Conjuring water with Water Materia? A good idea in theory, Leon, but we don't have any factories to make Materia. And if I'm being frank I don't understand the first thing these papers say."

Leon couldn't help but crack a smile. "Don't worry, neither do I. Cid says he gets some of it, though. And we know where to find someone who does."

Someone who does? Materia manufactory was a closely-guarded secret of the state, known to only a select few of the Bastion. They were widespread and incredibly convenient to the people of Radiant Garden before the fall, but too potentially dangerous to allow any Joe off the street to make them. The only person around today who knew how the process worked would be…

"You can't be serious."

"Desperate times, desperate measures."

Reeve shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Leon, he's dangerous. Him and everyone else in that prison. Or did you forget everything they did to Sora and all the worlds? To this world?"

"Of course not." Leon tried to keep his voice steady, but his clenched fists betrayed him. "But the fact remains that Ienzo is the only person alive who knows the full details of how Materia is made. We need his help, Reeve. It's the only way to get a steady water supply."

Reeve relented. Damn it, Leon was right. He sighed and slumped back in his seat. "Okay," he said with a wave of his hand. "Okay. But let me be the one to talk to them. They won't talk to you, not as someone who fought against Organization XIII."

"And you think you'll do much better?"

Now it was Reeve's turn to smile. "Former head of urban development, remember? I spent a lot of time at the Bastion. Even if I never really spoke to the apprentices, they know my face. And more importantly, I wasn't someone fighting against them."

Leon grimaced. "You may have a point." He tapped his fingers against the table then sighed. "Okay, Reeve. As you say. Take that sheet and head down to the prison, I assume you know the way?"

"I know this city inside and out, same as you." Reeve pocketed the paper and stood up, holding his hands out to Leon. "Until next time, Leon. I seriously hope you consider rebuilding the slums."

"One step at a time." But Leon did shake his hand and opened the door to let Reeve out into the front room of Merlin's house. To the two men's' surprise, it was more crowded than earlier. Marlene was in the corner playing with her new Cait Sith doll and Cid was still at the coffee table, but now the kitchen was occupied by Yuffie and Ventus. The latter was dressed in his school uniform, while the former had evidently changed back into her regular outfit as soon as she got through the door judging by the black jacket lying forgotten on the stairs.

"Pardon me, kids," Reeve said as he passed the two of them.

"Oh!" Marlene jumped up and waved goodbye. "Bye, Mr. Tuesti!"

"I told you, it's just Reeve!" The man's laughter lit up Merlin's house even as the front door closed behind him.

Ven had only given Reeve the barest of acknowledgment while Yuffie had ignored him entirely, the two of them all wrapped up in what Leon guessed to be homework. Marlene had gone back to the Cait Sith, too. Sighing, Leon sat down next to Cid.

"Biggs and Wedge aren't back yet?"

"Nope. Probably got lost on the way there, knowing them." Cid still had a cup of tea in front of him. How many did that make today? "I wouldn't rest easy though, Leon. You got a house call to make."

"What?"

"Lea came by here with Ventus and Yuffie, but he didn't stick around long. Just long enough to say he wanted to speak to you ASAP. 'Tell Squall to get his butt up to the bailey as soon as he's done', he said."

"Yeah, he seemed really serious!" Leon heard Ven chime in from the other end of the room behind him.

"Ven, stop looking away and help me with this dumb math problem!" Yuffie hissed.

Leon paid no attention to the loud crashes and Ven's pained shouts occurring behind him, he was too focused on what Cid had said. Lea wanted to see him? Why? The two of them had barely interacted at all over the last year, and while Lea helped the Restoration Committee out on more than one occasion he had absolutely refused to become a full member. So what did he need Leon for now?

"You going or what? Spiky doesn't usually get ahold of you, Leon. It's typically the other way around."

"Yeah, Cid. I'm going." Leon stood back up, excused himself as he moved past Marlene, and exited out onto the streets of Radiant Garden. The bailey right near Merlin's house had been built up quite a bit, and now instead of a view of a rocky blue wasteland it looked out over a field of flowers that gave way to a dense, green forest. But Lea wasn't waiting for him within the bailey; rather, he was atop it, facing the city with his feet dangling over open air.

"What are you doing up there?" Leon called up to him.

"Come join me and maybe I'll tell you," came the reply. Leon rolled his eyes but complied, climbing up the bricks that made up the wall and hoisting himself up onto the roof of the bailey alongside Lea. He half expected the fiery redhead to have a bar of that ice cream he loved so much, but he was actually holding a can of, of all things, beer. Another can came flying Leon's way and he caught Lea's toss without missing a beat.

"You gonna sit down or what?" Lea turned away from Leon to look back out over the city.

Shrugging, Leon sat down next to Lea and popped the can open. "What's this all about?"

Lea took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. His voice grew quiet. "I…had this dream last night…"