Chapter 1: Tailing is Hard

Cloud Strife found himself sitting at a barkeep, arms crossed and glaring at the shot of whiskey in front of him, waiting for Leon to finish with his business in the restroom so that he could continue the task of stalking him some more.

He took the liberty to curse his inability to fight against the wishes of a certain flower girl, though the incessant whining of everyone else might have had a hand in it too.

It had been three days since their departure from the safe zones of Radiant Garden, and it seemed that they were travelling deeper into desolate and uninhabitable lands left uncharted due to the mere fact that it was so far detached from actual civilisation that there had never been a need for it.

He was pulled out of his musings at the familiar sound of metal clinking against leather.

Taking out five pieces of munny, which was a generous tip for something he barely even drank, Cloud waited for Leon to leave the bar before hitching up his belongings and following suit...

... Only to lose sight of the leatherclad bastard the minute he walked out through the front doors.

He sighed.

This had happened approximately five times in the past four hours. Either he was losing his touch in the simple act of tailing someone, or the brunet takes to sprinting wherever he goes, or - and this was the most probable conclusion - Leon knew he was being followed and was attempting to shake him off.

He was admittedly doing a pretty stellar job of it too, and would have probably succeeded he had not underestimated Aerith's capacity for extreme cunningness beneath that gentle facade.

Cloud glanced down at the GPS and watched as a single beeping dot, just north of his location, raced off towards the west. He had no idea where Aerith had sewn that tracer into and, from first hand experience, he did not wish to know.

Running to the spot where he'd parked his hover bike, Cloud revved the engine and sped off in the direction of the dot.

After a good half hour of catching up and keeping his distance, they were finally past the major border of the last town. Of which what lay ahead seemed a never-ending expanse of sand and shifting dunes.

It would take them hours to reach the next fuel stop with nothing but scorching forty-eight degree wind and cacti full of desert scorpions in between. Which meant it would literally be just the two of them in the middle of endless torture, going to Hyne-knows-where and leaving absolutely no question as to whether Leon was right about being followed.

So Cloud dropped all pretense and sped up to draw parallel with Leon's bike.

"Hey, nice weather today."

He watched from the corner of his eye as Leon's form slumped slightly in resignation.

"Goddamit, Strife. I should've known it was you."

Cloud grinned under his hood, "I live for surprises."

Unimpressed, the brunet shot back, "Why are you tailing me?"

"Good question. Ask Aerith. A better question would be.. Where in Hyne's name are you going?!"

Leon's tone turned weary as he ignored him, "Turn back, Strife."

Cloud simply scoffed. "I take orders from no one."

"Except Aerith and the entire Hollow Bastion Restoration committee apparently."

Good point. He needed to work on that. But the line of questioning was not working and Cloud was damned if he had to endure the entire ride without even knowing where their destination was. With a swift tug of the hand brake, he brought his bike forward and skidded sideways to block Leon's path, forcing the other to a stop.

"Long story short, they think you're going crazy. And you know what, I think they're right," he glanced around and gestured to their surroundings, "There is NOTHING out here, Leon."

The brunet was silent, his jaw clenched and lips tight in a firm line. Cloud stared back, resolute. Two could play at this game.

Finally, Leon breathed a sigh and broke eye contact, muttering, "I'm going to visit a relative."

Cloud blinked. He waited four beats for a less ridiculous answer to come forth but when none came, he could do nothing but play along, "In the desert."

"Yes."

"Forgive me if I don't believe you."

"You're forgiven. Now turn back." Leon made to move past Cloud but Cloud switched gears and reversed to block the other's path again.

"Look. Leon. There's a really nice tavern back at the town behind us. We can go get a couple rounds and talk through our problems, okay?", he moved his hands out into a placating gesture, "Or if that doesn't work for you we can wait till it's less unbearable out here before heading out again. So, you in?"

When the brunet hesitated, Cloud thought they were in the clear. But what Leon was hesitating about had not been about the change of plans. With a quick grab at his holster and a blur of movement, he levelled his weapon at Cloud.

Cloud stared blankly down the length of Leon's gunblade, which was pointed dead center in between his eyes. He had never recalled being at the receiving end of it outside their brawls before. Feeling a little light-headed, Cloud flicked his eyes back to the man before him.

"Now I know you're definitely crazy."

"Turn back now or I make you." Leon was watching him. There was no glint of madness in his eyes. Just resolution and a hint of regret. The man was seriously trying to threaten him.

Reaching behind for the sheathe of his buster sword, Cloud stared back. This was different from their usual fights and, for some reason, it thrilled him to the bone.

"Fine. Make me."

The second he said those words, his opponent leapt from his bike and engaged in combat.

The first blow was instantaneous and aimed to disarm. Cloud barely lifted the buster sword in time to parry it before the next strike flew in from left. In a beat, he went from battle ready into total defense mode. There was no lull in the gunblade strikes for an opportunity to switch into offense.

Cloud grit his teeth and dropped to the ground, bringing up a fistful of sand and flung it into Leon's general direction. The ploy worked. Half-blinded, the brunet's onslaught of attacks stalled for a brief period, long enough for Cloud to counter. He tilted his sword to knock Leon out with the blunt end, but was parried at the last second. The gunblade's trigger fired and a round of explosives detonated at their point of contact, flinging the two fighters five feet into the air and leaving some distance between them.

Cloud was impressed despite himself. Leon's eyes were still closed, which meant he had moved on pure instinct. The itch to fight boiled strong in his veins. He leapt forward, not giving his opponent time for recovery. With a broad swing, the buster sword slammed heavily into Leon's side, sending him crashing into a sand dune behind him. He rolled unsteadily to his feet as Cloud rushed in for a second strike. This time, the sword made contact with metal instead as Leon countered with his gunblade. But the force alone was enough to push him back a couple feet more. The perfect distance for a third strike.

Aiming for the weapon in the brunet's hand, Cloud swung low and pushed all the force he could muster through his body and into the buster sword.
Leon opened one eye and brought his gunblade high in the air... and released it.

Shocked, Cloud's buster sword missed its target and swung blindly at the air. Leon vanished from his line of sight as he dropped low and the next thing he knew, his feet was knocked out from under him and he fell heavily on his back, the wind rushed out of him. He saw something black flash in his peripheral vision and rolled out of the way just in time as Leon slammed a fist into the spot where his abdomen had been a half second ago.

Jumping a couple steps back to catch his breath, Cloud watched warily as Leon stood up from the sand, panting just as heavily, one hand still rubbing sand out of his eye and holding the buster sword tight in the other. What a monster.

"I win." And finally, Leon grinned, waving the buster sword at Cloud.

"You win when I say you win." Cloud growled and charged at the brunet, picking up the gunblade that was lying at his feet.

Leon lowered his center of gravity, waiting for the strike. Cloud brought the gunblade up and swung.

And missed.

By a large margin.

So did Leon. He had moved to counter the blow but upon meeting no resistance, the buster sword carried its momentum full swing and whacked the side of its user's head.

Both fighters stumbled sideways, their opponents' weapon held tight in their hands.

Neither made a move for awhile, both staring dumbfoundedly at each other.

Soon, the remaining tension in the air seemed to deflate, and Leon tossed the weapon to Cloud, who caught it deftly. "Your sword sucks."

Cloud felt a grin forming on his face and fought to contain it. "Your's was the one that missed."

"YOU missed." Leon grunted and caught the gunblade as it was passed back to him.

"Whatever."

Both men trudged back to their bikes in silence, battle-induced adrenaline still buzzing high in their veins. Steadily though, the matter at hand gradually returned. Cloud glanced at the brunet half-heartedly, "You going to tell me the truth now?"

Leon tensed indiscernibly and caught himself, but Cloud noticed it. He sighed. "Well, at least give me a better cover story. Aerith won't be too happy about it but she'll live."

He reached the backseat of his hover bike and lifted the tarp, sheathing the buster sword and fastening it to the seat. It was nearing dusk by now and the temperature was falling fast. Soon, it would be too dark to turn back and he would have to set up camp amidst the scorpions. Time was running out.

He felt a hand fall on his shoulder and turned to face the other man in silence, waiting. Gunmetal eyes watched back, calculating. The wind seemed to fall into a lull and Cloud could finally hear sounds of life; a rattlesnake close by shook its tail in warning as it passed them. When Leon spoke, it was quiet. "I wasn't lying."

Cloud held his breath. "Excuse me?"

The other man reached into his backpack, strapped to the back of his bike, and pulled out a compass. The needle wavered and settled to point North, towards the town behind them. Leon pointed to the southwest direction. "I'm meeting someone. Maybe not a relative. But someone close." Then he frowned, deep in thought, "Or used to be. I don't know yet."

"You're not making any sense."

"But it's the truth." Leon shrugged. "Not much a cover story though."

Groaning, Cloud let his head fall into his hands. "Alright, you can tell me the details later. It's getting dark though so we should head back to town and regroup tomorrow." He held out his water pouch. "Also, I'm out of water."

He did not expect Leon to thump him hard on the back, pass him two full litres of cool agua juice taken from the confines of his backseat, and grin smugly at his blank expression. "No wonder you were so dehydrated. Be a little more prepared next time, you moron." He climbed back onto his bike and started the engine, checking his fuel gauges and nodding in satisfaction. "Well, tell Aerith not to worry. As you can see I'm still perfectly sane and capable of looking after myself. See you back in about a couple weeks."

Cloud snapped out of whatever brief reverie he was in and stormed back into Leon's face. "Wait just one minute, bastard. You haven't told me where you were heading. And you are NOT going out there alone. There... there are snakes!" He finished lamely.

Leon gave him an incredulous look. "You're not coming with me."

"Why not?"

The brunet actually had the gall to look stunned by the sudden offer. "Uhh..."

Cloud wanted to punch that look off his face; he could not believe it had come to this. In exasperation, Cloud proceeded to parrot a line that he had heard the brunet relay time and time again to Sora, his committee members and soldiers of the royal security force back when he had played mentor at King Mickey's castle.

"In missions, you go in as a unit. You watch each other's back because the chances of succeeding is high when you work as a team. And the chances of surviving is low when you don't. Do not forget that." He snapped his jaw shut and glowered expectantly.

Leon burst into laughter upon hearing his own words thrown back at him.

"Alright you win."

He hopped of his bike and walked over to check Cloud's gauges and tyre pressures. "But we won't turn back to town. There's a place we can stay a little ways off from here but we'd be travelling in the dark a bit. Thanks to SOMEONE slowing us down by half the day."

Cloud took the breath he did not know he was holding and rolled his eyes. "You're unbelievable." He let the brunet prod at his brakes and rear view mirrors as he watched in slight amusement. "How did those guys manage to live with you for so long without wanting to kill you?"

Leon only grinned mischievously back at him as he straightened up, satisfied that Cloud was sufficiently geared up to his expectations, at least enough to continue on the duration of their journey.

"Weird, huh? It's like they actually like me."

"That's debatable." Cloud kicked and shooed at him. "Go back to your damn bike and let's go before the sun sets and we freeze to death."

TBC