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(T-T)

KN: OK, third chapter. Well, more of a 2B chapter, since I couldn't fit it all last chapter. Chapter 2 was kind of long compared to the first, and I guess I'll give you guys a breather chapter, though this flashback is still somewhat important in how Leon establishes leadership in Traverse Town. By breather, I just mean it's less heavy because I added a dumb joke.

Warnings: Eventual LeonXCloud. They take turns topping (Not that there's any real explicit sex in this story because that's still not allowed on FF, guys). Reno is in this story. And hey, a hint to why Reno is needed for this story! Vincent still won't be appearing this chapter. AU. Spoilers for all the games in the Kingdom Hearts series. And so many italics…gosh.

KN: Fixed mistakes in chapter 2. Also, it turns out my friend is really strong and resilient, and I have never been more relieved and proud of someone in my life. She won't just be fine. She'll be great.

(T-T)

"Whoa!" Kairi managed to say before she abruptly disappeared from the room. Reno dropped the cup of tea she had made for him, and the sound of it shattering alerted Cid.

"What's goin' on?" he asked once he noticed Reno's expression. 'And why did ya ruin a perfectly good tea cup?'

"K-Kairi just disappeared, yo! How-?!"

"Sora must've beat Ansem." Cid realized. "Kairi probably went home 'cause he sealed Kingdom Hearts."

"Oh…" Reno calmed down. "I kinda wished I had time to say good-bye to her, but I'm glad she's safe." He smiled somewhat at the thought. "Wait, how come we weren't teleported back to Hollow Bastion, yo? And if Kingdom Hearts is sealed, wouldn't the roads between worlds be closed too?"

"Maybe we've been here so long, Hollow Bastion's heart forgot that we belonged there… And the roads probably aren't closed if we're still in the wrong world." Cid proposed. "In any case, we should probably head back ta Hollow Bastion if Sora did manage to do it." Cid picked up the tools for the gummi ship. "C'mon, Turk! Quit standin' around!"

"Aw, shut it, old man! I'm coming!" The red head snapped. "And you know something else? I'm taking the gummi ship I built while I'm at it."

"That helicopter of yers isn't gonna fly." Cid warned.

"Says you, yo!" Reno said as he walked towards his gummi ship. Cid shook his head at that.

"At least head straight ta Hollow Bastion. I can find ya better if yer close by." Cid advised to deaf ears. "I'm headin' ta Olympus first, though. I hear there's a tournament goin' on, and I'll bet Leon and Yuffie are in it."

"Say what?!" Reno turned to Cid abruptly. "And they didn't invite me, yo?!"

"You were too busy babyin' Kairi." Cid deadpanned.

"I wasn't babyin' her." Reno denied. "She just…reminded me of someone. That's all, yo." He then walked away shortly afterwards. Cid looked down and shook his head.

'We all lost things, Turk. We can't forget it, but we got to move on somehow.' Cid thought as he finished packing what little he kept on him before he got to his gummi ship.

(T-T)

And Cid makes it to Olympus, somewhat relieved that the roads between worlds hadn't closed after all.

"Where are those two?" the pilot grumbled. Was the tournament over already? Did they go home? And if they did, which home? He sighed angrily, taking out another toothpick to chew on the end of it. "I should try to invent some kind of communicator one of these days…"

Though, honestly, he really wanted to invent some kind of regulation-friendly cigarette so that the people wouldn't flip out over him "poisoning the air." Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie all agreed with the locals back in Traverse Town too. He groaned. So much for getting support from his fellow Hollow Bastionians… Only Reno could understand a smoker's plight!

Well, at least he could relax a bit, now that he thought about it. He looked skyward and thought about the Highwind. It was a better ship than it used to be, but he'd still need to make a lot of modifications. Then it could be one of a kind despite all it flaws...like Sher-!

"What are ya thinkin'?" He berated himself, looking back down at the earth…and seeing another kind of Cloud when he did. One that wore a red cape and held a sword. "Wha…?!" But before he could even think, the other blond snapped out a wing and flew full speed into the neighboring town. Cid stood there speechless for a bit, too many thoughts trying to process themselves at once.

Was that really…? Had he been here this whole…? He survived. Wing. Why? What? How?

Cid 'tch'-ed and ran in the direction Cloud flew off in. The time for questions would have to come later. Right now, Cloud was probably more terrified than anything.

(T-T)

Running around, Cid had found out that the tournament had been over a long time ago. At least that way, he was assured that Leon and Yuffie had probably left after all. But if the tournament had been long over, then why did Cloud look injured before? If he was a coliseum gladiator, then he probably had to fight more anyway regardless of whether a tournament was active or not, but why would he become a gladiator?

"Give me a…break…will ya?" He said in between pants, hunched over with his hands on his knees.

"Yo!" a voice startled the pilot. He turned to see a satyr holding groceries in one arm. "You've been runnin' around in circles for a while. Ya lookin' for somebody?"

"Yeah…" Cid took a moment to catch his breath. "Blond, wears a red cape, has a wing for some reason?"

"Oh, him." The satyr rolled his eyes. "Don't know why yer lookin' fer a demon like him, but," he pointed to the alley behind him, "he flew down thatta way."

Cid thanked him and dashed down in that direction, though the thought of Cloud being a called a demon worried him. Phil just took a cabbage head out of his bag and took a bite of it.

"Hope he's not tryin' ta convince him to do anything. The guy's not worth da trouble." He said to himself as he continued down to the coliseum.

It wasn't long before the gummi ship builder found Cloud, resting with his back against a wall and gingerly touching a torn part of his wing.

"Ain'tcha too old to be playing hide-and-seek?" Cid crossed his arms. Cloud looked like he would've jumped if he had the strength, but he turned to face Cid, folding his wing back under his cape. "Have you been in Olympus the whole time?"

Cloud remained silent, offering Cid only a blank stare.

'So that's how it's gonna be?' the pilot thought. Cloud had always been a quiet kid back in Hollow Bastion, but that was more out of shyness than anything. The Cloud now…the Cloud that grew up nine years away from them, well, he seemed quiet for an entirely different reason. Cid couldn't even begin to fathom what the kid…man had gone through. Ha, that's right. Cloud was practically an adult now, wasn't he? Oh, what the heartless had robbed them, all of them of… Well, he'd have to ask the questions one at a time, then. The pilot habitually took out another toothpick.

"If you were in Olympus, how come ya never saw Yuffie or Squall during the tournaments?" Cid asked. "I can't imagine Yuffie not being able to convince ya to come see us. She followed ya around like a duckling back when you were kids. Aerith woulda been overjoyed to see ya too."

'Aerith, especially, would have wanted ta see ya.'

"And Squall…oh, he calls himself 'Leon,' now. I don't know how he'd react, but I know you'd have wanted ta see him at least. Ya had the biggest cru-!"

"Shut up." Cloud immediately interrupted him. The older blond was slightly startled at the sound. Well, it only made sense that Cloud's voice would be deeper, but it still sounded jarring when the last time he had heard Cloud speak was nine years ago, and it had been a shy, quiet few words. Now he just sounded kind of harsh and out of place.

"So ya can talk, after all." Cid grinned around the toothpick in his mouth. "Was afraid ya lost yer voice."

'Not that ya used it much back in Hollow Bastion.'

"You look like you lost your smoking habit, Cid." The winged swordsman almost teased. "Did someone take them away? Thought you were tougher than that."

Cid spit his toothpick out. Did Cloud always have that kind of a mouth on him? Well, not that he would've been able to tell considering the usual silent demeanor… Is this what being a gladiator did to him?

"Looks like you changed more than just yer looks…" The pilot noted, taking another toothpick out of his pack.

"I changed more than I wanted." Cloud simply stated, glancing at the bulge in his cape that was the wing he'd hidden away.

"I assume nine years will do that to somebody." Cid crossed his arms. "You wouldn't believe how tall Yuffie's gotten. Aerith's turned into even more of a lady, and I guess Leon smiles more. Oh, and I don't know if you know Reno, but he's changed a little bit too. Ugh…what am I doin', ramblin'?" the pilot shook his head. "Look, no matter how much ya think ya've changed, we'd want ta see ya."

"…" Cloud gave him a blank look, as if he had already heard it before.

"It's been nine years, Cloud." Cid stressed. "We were close ta givin' up any hope that someone else from Hollow Bastion survived. Shouldn'tcha just come see us? I have room in the Gummi ship."

"…this isn't like you." the swordsman said quietly. Cid 'tch'-ed. Yeah, Cloud wasn't wrong in that respect. If this were another situation, he wouldn't bother with trying to persuade anybody. It wasn't his thing to talk anyone into doing anything, and he would've just left an adult capable of making their own decisions alone, but…

"Things change." Cid answered. And Cloud was making the wrong decision to stay in this world and be alone when he didn't need to be. "What's stoppin' ya, anyway?"

"It might be this." Cloud showed him the now demonic claw that used to be his hand. Cid's eyes widening and slight jump didn't go unnoticed by the younger blond. The pilot had thought it was just a glove at first. "Or it could be the wing you saw earlier."

"All right, I see that ya've been through a lot," Cid coughed, taking another toothpick out of his pack, "but that doesn't answer my question. Ya think a wing and a claw would make Aerith of all people treat ya any differently?"

"You wouldn't understand." Cloud said, looking away.

"Yeah, I bet I wouldn't." Cid scoffed. "Because ya never really talk 'bout what's buggin' ya anyway. Not even ta people who're closer to you than me." Cloud narrowed his eyes at that, a dangerous flash glowed in that second. The pilot knew he was hitting a nerve and speaking out of place, but he was beyond caring at this point. When did Cloud become so cold, anyway? Was this really the little shy kid he saw back in Hollow Bastion? "So, ya got any better excuses?"

The winged swordsman stood up abruptly on shaky legs, attempting to walk away when one of those legs gave out, and he collapsed.

"Not now!" the younger blond quietly cursed, getting up as best he could with one shin still stuck to the ground in exhaustion, and opted to fold his wing out instead.

"Where d'ya think yer goin'?" Cid didn't even need to take one step before Cloud had fallen again. Cid made his way over to him, realizing that Cloud wasn't going anywhere with those injuries. "Ya all right?" The older blond ran his eyes over the other's frame. Whatever Cloud was fighting, it must've hit him pretty hard.

"I'm fine." Cloud asserted, attempting to get up again.

'No, yer not.' Cid pulled a potion out of his pack. Cloud had been like this back in Hollow Bastion too. He didn't know if it was because Cloud didn't like to worry people or wanted to look tough, but the kid never liked to admit he was hurt anywhere.

"Here." The pilot pushed the bottle into the swordsman's hands. Cloud reluctantly took it, thanking the other wordlessly. The wing slightly wrapped around him, almost protectively.

They let the silence hang for a bit as Cid gathered his thoughts. When he was confident enough that he picked his words better, he spoke up again.

"I don't know what yer thinkin'. I'm not a mindreader, but if yer thinkin' that yer a monster or that yer broken, then ya ain't either of those. And even if ya think yer broken, that doesn't mean yer worth any less then what ya were before." The older blond asserted.

"…" Cloud's wing wrapped a bit closer around him. He had heard it all before. He wished the other man would stop wasting words on him already. The blond spikes peeking out from behind the wing reminded Cid of something back in Hollow Bastion.

An image went off in Cid's head, of Cloud when he was a kid back in Hollow Bastion. Sometimes, the younger blond would walk into his workshop when he was fixing something and watch. Walking in was a bit of an exaggeration, though. Cloud still stayed behind the wall of the entrance, blond spikes peeking out in curious shyness. Even though Cid could've chased him off, the pilot let the kid watch till he decided he didn't understand what was going on and left. The company hadn't been unwanted, anyway. He wondered…

"Ya know…" Cid cleared his throat. "I collected a lotta excess gummi blocks when traveling, so I could build something fer ya if ya want."

"…cycle."

"What?" the pilot asked, slightly startled.

"Even a motorcycle?" the younger blond asked more clearly, the wing opening up a bit more, though it still hid his blush at requesting such a thing.

'What would ya want a motorcycle fer?'

"Yeah." Cid confirmed. "It might be a lil' difficult, but it's possible."

"Okay, I'll go with you." Cloud said, the light blush more apparent on his face. Was that a sparkle in his eyes too?

…Cid wanted to laugh. Could it really have been this simple? Well, he wouldn't complain.

"All right, then. Let's get goin'." Cid smiled the widest he had in months.

(T-T)

"Hey, Phil!" Hercules made his way towards the satyr. "Have you seen Cloud?"

"Last time I saw 'im, he was takin' off on a gummi ship with another bloke." The hero trainer answered. "I think he's goin' home. 'Bout time too!"

"Ah, that's a shame… There was someone looking for him."

"Well, too bad fer them then." The satyr cackled.

The image of the two blurred in the ball Hades was using to spy on them. The flames on his head danced as he scowled.

"So the kid breaks my contract and skedaddles, eh?" Hades waved a hand over the ball, turning off the power to observe others. "Well, not like I needed him anyway. And besides…" He smiled maliciously. "He's too broken to save anyone now. It's only a matter of time…"

(T-T)

It was a miracle they survived.

Crashing the way they did, Squall still couldn't believe they didn't end up splattered on the walls of the ship. Not that he was complaining or anything. Aerith still had Yuffie wrapped in one of her arms protectively, and Squall had managed to stand up. He noticed the door had been opened, but he wasn't sure who had exited the ship or who could exit the ship so quickly.

"I may not know how to fly a ship, but I think I'd at least make a better landing than this, yo!" The red-haired man groaned as he tried to stand up.

"Is everyone all right?" Squall asked as he made his way towards the two girls.

"I…I'm fine…" Aerith managed to say as she let go of Yuffie. "Just a little shaken up." She finished in a clearer voice.

"That was really scary!" Yuffie threw up her arms to emphasize her point.

"Yeah." Squall cringed at the high volume the little girl's voice could get. "It was. I think we're safe now, though…"

"Wherever we are, yo." The red-haired man looked around a little bit before he reached into his pocket. Squall climbed out of the rocket to find out where they were, but he could still hear the red head's incredulous outburst of "Where the hell are my smokes?!"

"Ya call this place 'Traverse Town,' huh?" Cid was conversing with what appeared to be a local of the area. Squall was a bit taken aback at how undamaged the town was compared to what had happened in Hollow Bastion. Was it only their world that had crumbled under that black hole and sea of monsters?

"Yes," the local replied, with a rather proud stance, "it's quite the lovely town, isn't it?"

"Real charmin'." Cid nodded. He looked back at the rather large crater that his ship had created and gave the local an apologetic expression. "I'll…uh get that fixed later…"

"Oh, you shouldn't worry about that too much now." The local protested. "I'm sure you must have had quite the adventure getting here. You must be famished! Or tired. Or both?"

"I'm hungry!" Yuffie piped up as she climbed out of the ship. Aerith helped her get down while the red head was the last to get out of the ship. His disgruntled expression seemed to fade away as he turned his head from one direction to another, surveying the new location they landed in. He whistled in appreciation.

"We coulda landed in worse places, yo." He turned his attention to the local. "You wouldn't happen to have any smokes, would ya?" The local in question looked so utterly offended and disgusted, that Squall almost would've laughed.

"How can you even insinuate?!" the local exclaimed.

"I take it that's a no?" The red head seemed to dismiss the emotional overflow. "Now what am I supposed to do, yo?"

"To even mention something of the likes of alcohol or tobacco in this town!" The local turned to Cid, perhaps in the hope that the man would support the notion.

Unfortunately, Cid was currently lighting a cigarette. The local was none too pleased at the sight and attempted to wrestle the lighter as well as cigarette away from the blond.

"H-hey! Get yer own!" Cid growled out as he tugged on his possessions. "Or ya coulda just asked me fer one!"

"Dude, were you really holding out on me? Not cool, yo!" The red-haired man then joined in, though he only went in briefly to steal one cigarette. The local used the other hand to grab onto the one the red head stole.

"How can you two even think to do this in the presence of a sweet little girl?!" The local seemed to be at the breaking point. "Poisoning her air like this! You two should be ashamed!"

"Yeah! Don't poison me!" Yuffie yelled happily. It seemed like she didn't know what was going on or the meaning of her words, but she was having fun nonetheless. Aerith simply had a hand over her mouth as she laughed at the scene.

Squall was pretty sure he should have been happier too. They were safe, the older men were arguing with a local, the girls were smiling, and Traverse Town seemed nice. But Traverse Town wasn't Hollow Bastion. Traverse Town wasn't their home. Traverse Town didn't have an orphanage where Irvine and Zell and Rinoa would meet with him.

He didn't know why it chose to hit home now, but the realization that their world was gone hit Squall harder than a geyser stream of water.

You couldn't save Rinoa.

Or Irvine. Or Zell.

You watched your orphanage drown.

You can't save anyone.

Wrong.

He couldn't save them in Hollow Bastion, but he can at least protect the people that were with him now. And should his friends somehow turn up if they survived, then he would protect them too. He could maybe build a new orphanage here, though a house would need to come first. Yes, Hollow Bastion was gone. They were in Traverse Town now. This would be their new home.

…awfully ambitious aren't you? Thinking you can just fix all your mistakes by starting over?

Did you think you could grow stronger when you're so weak back then? When you're so weak now?

You killed Rinoa! You can't save anyone, Squall!

Then he wouldn't be Squall anymore! Squall died with Hollow Bastion. But the one that was alive now wouldn't be so weak. He'll be different, with the pride of a lion and a heart to match. He'd call himself-!

"Ack!" the pack of cigarettes made a loud ploop sound as it landed in the fountain. Cid and the red-haired man could only stare in horror for a while as the local smiled smugly and adopted a triumphant stance.

"Well, that's enough of that nonsense for now!" The local whistled cheerily. Yuffie tugged on the person's shirt and got their attention almost immediately.

"Can we get food now?" She asked before letting out a yawn. She had been through a lot more than any kid her age needed to go through, so no one blamed her for being tired.

"Why, of course!" the local picked her up and walked towards a house. "Let me just whip up something quick before you fall asleep, all right?"

"I'll help out too!" Aerith offered as she followed after them.

"Just wait till I get my lance!" Cid roared.

"Uh…I don't think that'll help, yo." The red-haired man interjected. "The kid with the funny-lookin' sword over there kinda dropped it outside of the ship when we took off."

'Only because I was trying to save you.' He thought angrily.

"What?!" Cid stomped over to him. "That was the only lance I coulda brought with me, ya idjit! Do I look like someone who can cast all o' those fancy-shmancy magic spells you kids are into these days? How am I supposed ta fight now, Squall?"

"Don't call me that." He closed his eyes in frustration.

"What?" Cid raised a brow and placed a hand on his hip. "That's yer name, isn't it?"

"Not anymore." He re-opened his eyes and spoke resolutely. "My name's Leon now."

And he'd never be 'Squall' again.

(T-T)

"Hey, ya guys won't believe who I found." Cid gave them a wide smile as he pointed a thumb back to the Cloud walking behind him.

"Cloudster!" Yuffie bounced happily. Reno gave a long whistle, looking the newcomer up and down.

"Not bad, yo." The redhead concluded.

Leon just gave the other swordsman a blank look and idly wondered what made him change his mind. Aerith walked over to the blond swordsman leisurely. Cloud apparently found the floor more interesting as his gaze strayed there. The girl was undeterred as she leaned down, looking like she was trying to see his eyes. He looked up slightly, locked eyes with her for a second, and then he turned away. Aerith straightened up and giggled while Yuffie rushed towards him and tackled him into a hug. Cloud hadn't budged a centimeter, again, and awkwardly wrapped an arm around her. She looked up at him with a smile.

"Are you staying this time?" the ninja asked eagerly.

The small nod Cloud gave her proved to be a very acceptable answer.

(T-T)

KN: Will I ever get better at writing and making people in-character…? –rolls- Oh, I was originally going to make this a bit of a joke chapter with only the motorcycle bit, but then I was like, "KN, no, this is a serious story, you can't do that!" So then I got the talk between Cid and Cloud, and I just like that so much more, so yay. Cid and Yuffie are so great, I wish I had appreciated their characters more…

I wouldn't let go of the motorcycle bit, and if that wasn't how Cid got Cloud to go to Hollow Bastion in canon…well, whatever. I don't care about canon that much, anyway. I was stuck at 'ya got any better excuses' for a while, though, because what does one say in response to that?