Chapter 2: Desert Sand

Leon had lied.

The journey to whatever rest stop they were supposedly headed to took a lot longer than 'a little ways off from here'. In fact, it took them approximately three hours and forty-six minutes to reach it. Thank Hyne there was a moon that day or Cloud would have gone stir crazy driving about in the dark with only their headlights illuminating the the sandy dunes in front of them, which was not much considering the dust blown up by the desert wind hid a good portion of it anyway.

The 'stop' turned out to be a small bunker that had been set up it seemed decades ago and left abandoned by the side of a large, lone rock jutting out from the sand. Leon stalled his bike by the back of the bunker, leeward of the wind, and waved him over.

"You look way too happy for someone stuck in a situation like this." Cloud grumbled as he hunkered down over the dashboard, facing away from the sand buffetting at them.

Leon hmm-ed and shook out a large sheet from the back of his bike, handing the ends over to Cloud. They covered their bikes and tied down the sheet securely against the bunker. Pulling his goggles and hood low over his head, Leon motioned them towards the entrance and signalled. In unison, they pulled the creaking door open just large enough for both to squeeze through and close it again before more sand could enter.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Leon waved around at the small room no larger than the size of the bathroom back at the tavern. "Make yourself at home. I'd do the honours and give you a tour but I'm afraid there isn't much to see."

"No kidding." The bunker was completely empty aside from a few sheets of woven rugs piled at a corner, a bunch of empty bottles and cans, and an empty oil lamp hanging from the roof.

Cloud dumped his rucksack in the middle of the room and reached in to pick out a few cans of processed beans and fish. He was still digging around for a can opener when he noticed Leon watching him. "What?"

He tilted his head at the cans. "Is that your dinner?"

Cloud stilled at the use of pronoun. "I can share it if you want."

Seeming to have decided something, Leon suddenly dug into his backpack and brought out a canister, several solid fuels, a lighter, and a knife. He dumped two fuels into the oil lamp overhead and struck the lighter, bathing the cold, green bunker interior with a warm glow. He turned to Cloud. "Wait here, I'll get dinner."

By the time Leon had come back from retrieving his items, Cloud had finally found the can opener and was opening the second can of beans. The brunet stepped over their backpacks and was in the process of fishing out their dinner when he suddenly paused in front of Cloud.

The moment of slight hesitation was jarring enough that Cloud glanced up at him, lifting an eyebrow in question. Finally, the brunet held out a packet of frozen drumsticks in front of Cloud's face. "Dinner has arrived."

Leon turned the canister on low and dropped the drumsticks in a metal tin above it to defrost, Cloud however, was still staring at the frozen food. When he looked back up and spoke, the words were low and precise.

"Alright, enough games. How are you doing that?" He nodded at the drumsticks, still cool from the ice, "A cooler box wouldn't work for this long and there's no way you installed a freezer into the back of your bike. Yet, you managed to store cold water and frozen chicken with no problems and for well over a day under scorching weather." He snapped his gaze back up at Leon in question, making no attempt at helping with the cutlery.

Deliberately, the other man sat down beside Cloud and prodded the drumsticks with his knife, his next words were carefully spoken, "It isn't rare for someone to have an affinity with ice magic. But where magic is meant to be cast, mine is willed. And that is definitely not normal. I don't suppose you know of a summons called Shiva?"

Cloud froze at the familiar words, waiting for an elaboration, but the other was mutely watching him, and and his mind worked furiously at the implications. He suddenly felt numb, dinner forgotten.

"You... Hold up... You know about Shiva? But either way, spirits of the old demigods shouldn't exist here. Not even mediums like Namine have the ability to call up the old gods, let alone gain access to their powers."

The brunet nodded, impressed by his deductions. "And yet, she has awakened in me. That itself is an anomaly and it's been causing me more problems than it's worth," He paused, as if contemplating something in hindsight, waiting a beat before shrugging to himself and opted to continue, "Merlin mentioned that it could be a type of transient magic that has somehow leaked in from my old world and is causing a glitch in the magical laws of this world."

He looked up. "And it's gotten a lot harder to hide it these past couple of months. I've had to busy myself with tasks all day just so I'm exhausted enough that I don't accidentally freeze all of Cid's computers."

Cloud's mind whirled with the new information, trying to form a plausible explanation for the odd abnormality. "The fact that it's happened only recently means that there was a trigger. I'm assuming this has something to do with your long-lost 'relative' who lives in the middle of a desert?"

When there was no reply, he glanced back and frowned, "Leon?"

But Leon was looking away, suddenly completely preoccupied with something else. Cloud brought his head round in the direction of his gaze, and stared in dumb bewilderment at the five foot long stalactite that had seemingly exploded out the back of Leon's forearm.

The brunet blinked once and muttered, "Huh...That's new..." and then promptly collapsed, clawing desperately at his head as the ice began to spread rapidly past his biceps and over his shoulder blades. "Oh fuck..."

The room temperature took a sudden plunge and Cloud's breath came out in mist, the beginnings of a shiver crawled up his spine as he watched the other man groaning in pain on the ground.

He snapped into action. Rushing over to the pile of rugs in the corner, Cloud dragged a couple of gaudy-looking carpets over to the shivering brunet, draping one over him as he knelt and turned up the fire on the canister. "Leon!" He yelled and shook the other man by the shoulders, attempting to defrost the ice that was creeping up his arms. "Goddammit, Leon. Don't try to SUMMON it, you crazy idiot!"

Nothing Cloud did seemed to have any effect, and the frost on Leon's skin only began to grow as his face grew paler from the cold. Light from the lantern above them suddenly flickered as tiny icicles started forming on the roof. Not good. Cloud was not the type to panic easily but this was a little outside his area of expertise.

He shook Leon harder, "I swear to Hyne if we freeze to death in the middle of a bloody desert because of you- "he smacked his non-too-gently on the face, two fingers pressed to the side of his neck, "- I'm going to shove your damn gunblade up your sorry ass- "the pulse was weak but still present, "- and shoot that damn Shiva out of you! You hear me?!" The ice was solidifying and spreading out onto the ground, trapping them both to the spot.

"SQUALL!"

And then everything stopped. The creeping frost around them stilled to a melt and the room temperature -when had it dropped so much?- began to slowly rise again. Leon's eyes blinked open, unfocused. Cloud let out a breath and all but collapsed back onto the pile of rugs he had haphazardly dragged across the room, taking deep breaths before he did something stupid like pass out from oxygen deprivation. He snapped his fingers in front of Leon's face but got no other reaction aside from a sudden body tremor. Reaching down, he pulled up a couple more rugs to drape across him.

"Hey, are you alive?"

Leon said nothing for awhile, too busy trying to subdue the tremors wracking his frame, and Cloud let the question go unanswered, too spent from the day's events to do anything else but check that the rugs had not fallen off the other. In the meantime, their drumsticks had begun to cook. The mouth-watering smell of dinner wafted around in the air, keeping the two awake.

Leon eventually broke the silence with a choked snigger. "You were going to shove my gunblade up my sorry ass, huh?"

Feeling his face heat up despite himself, Cloud snapped back. "Well you woke up, didn't you?" He lightly nudged the shivering mass of rugs with his feet.

"Whatever."

Shrugging, Cloud reached to turn down the fire as the drumsticks started to turn a crispy brown. He glanced down at the wheezing brunet and peeled back layers of woven cloth to reveal Leon's face. Colour was finally returning, albeit very gradually, and the tremors had given way to an occasional shiver.

Cloud sighed. Something was obviously going on with Leon that was linked to his old world, though why it was happening now was anyone's guess. No one knew much about the man or where he had come from. According to Aerith, he had simply appeared and existed alongside the rest of them, and that was it.

It was a strange novelty for him, thinking of a different Leon, the one who calls himself Squall, living a separate life in a separate world. He had always been a big part of Radiant Garden, always ready for a fight and so irritatingly composed about everything, the leader of a group that helped to rid the worlds of Heartless. And of course that same, insufferable, mighty leader had opted to solve this new little problem without telling anyone, like a burden he had resolved to carry alone. What a moron.

"You know," Cloud mused out loud, watching the other man breathe with difficulty, "If this is your idea of asking me for help, you didn't have to go to the trouble of unleashing a goddamn ice storm inside the one tiny-ass bunker that is literally the only shield standing between us and rattlesnake city."

Leon's laugh came in short bursts. "But you gotta give a man credit for his incredible powers of persuasion though. An ice storm is pretty good leverage I say."

Unable to think of a good rebuttal and slightly annoyed at that fact, Cloud shot back. "Sure, but leverage means nothing if the other party did not agree on the terms to begin with."

And as insensitive as the comment had been, Cloud had still expected to hear a sarcastic and smart-ass retort in response as per status quo, but the silence that followed somehow spoke way louder than anything Leon could have said. A frown that was forming on his face deepened at the incredibly belated and offhand 'damn it didn't work huh' that came after. Not liking the new direction in conversation, Cloud announced to the air with a finality so heavy he surprised even himself.

"I was kidding. I'll help." he said as he moved towards the sizzling canister and turned off the fire before their night's dinner truly turned to charcoal. On cue, a voice ground out behind him.

"Look Strife- " Here we go, Cloud thought. "-I meant what I said before that you don't have to do this. To begin with, this is my problem, not your's. And I can deal with it perfectly fine on my own without the need to endanger other people in the process- "

But Cloud cut him off before he could go further.

"You're right, Leon, it's not my problem. But I have a responsibility towards a town that houses the people important to me, and a debt to pay the man who saved them. So like it or not, Leonhart, I'm going to hound you until you drag your ass back to Radiant Garden in one piece and most importantly, report back to Aerith before she sends another formal request to King Mickey about a search and rescue just to get you back to base. And we both know how well the last one went."

Leon winced at the memory, shaking his head, "Duly noted," then smiled back at Cloud in genuine gratitude and slight wonder at the rather unexpected speech that was divulged.

"And thanks."

Cloud only nodded, and soon after both men grew tired of cleaning up the mess of half melted ice around them, they had a silent but welcome dinner and slept in the driest spot they could find. Exhaustion creeping through their minds and muscles, it was not long before sleep took hold of them both.

"Strife."

Cloud woke up to the feeling of sand in his mouth and a hand shaking him urgently by the shoulder. The fog of sleep in his head took slightly longer than usual to clear. Hyne, how much alcohol had he had last night?

"Strife. Wake up." The voice became clearer. Leon's voice; his brain helpfully supplied.

"Wuzzit?" He attempted to shoo the hand that was shaking him away and could almost feel the exasperation in Leon's tone when he missed and slapped at the other's face instead.

"Hyne. Even Yuffie is easier to wake then whatever log you're trying to impersonate right now."

Cloud cracked an eye open and glared as menacingly as he could with half his face buried comfortably in his rucksack. "I loathe early risers like you."

Leon swiped the bag from under him and stood up, causing his head to bounce painfully on the cold ground of the bunker. "Wow, asshole."

The brunet only shrugged, slanting a smirk down at him. "Sorry, your highness," he said in the most unapologetic voice Cloud had ever heard from the man, "but it's time to leave. Meet me outside when you're done putting on your make up." He let the rucksack fall back on top of Cloud and proceeded towards the metal door leading to their bikes, his own backpack fastened securely to his back.

Cloud groaned and counted to twenty, rubbing a hand across his face. He silently recited all the reasons he could think of for helping the bastard in his mind, letting it play on repeat before his own common sense decided to say screw it and simply knock the man on the back of his head and drag him unconscious all the way back to headquarters. He glanced down at the feeling of water on his fingertips.

Right.

Shiva, one of the most powerful ice demigoddess and summons, is apparently making a happy home out of Leon's pool of magical reserves.

Fantastic.

He rolled to a stand, dumped his belongings haphazardly back into his rucksack, and headed for the door after Leon.

Outside, the desert winds seemed to have calmed down significantly overnight. Only a gentle stillness lay undisturbing the of the dunes around them, as the smallest rays of dawn peaked over the East horizon.

Cloud lugged his bag over the back of his hover bike and strapped all the items securely back into place as he watched Leon from the corners of his eyes. The other man had already loaded the tarp back on his bike and had pulled out what seemed to be a self-made map, checking and marking out their coordinates with a marker, the compass sat flat on the top of the bike seat, its needle wavering slightly in the North-west direction.

He walked up to the map and glanced interestedly down at the marked out route. From their current position, an X in the middle of an empty area with the words "Base Bunker" written in Leon's handwritten scrawl, the route went further out towards the center of the map in a relatively straight line. What caught and held Cloud's eye was the middle portion of the map where a large circle had been drawn out, encompassing approximately 10 kilometres in radius and labelled with two big question marks.

Even more intriguing, was the fact that Leon's route goes past the circle by a wide margin, purposefully avoiding it with a berth of nearly 3 kilometres eastward, and ending at a smaller circle to the south with no other description than a cryptic label called "Meeting Point".

"Odd location for a rendezvous." He mused out loud, deciding to forgo discussion of the other, even odder area.

Leon only shrugged, focusing on the compass needle and spoke as if on hindsight. "I'm sure they have their reasons."

Cloud blinked, suddenly thrown by the information. "Hold up. How many relatives of yours are living in this desert?"

"Supposedly one."

"Alright. And who was the one who decided it was a good idea to meet up in this one particular spot in the middle of nowhere instead of a nice bar back in the civilised world?"

Leon was silent for a bit as he turned away, busying himself with the map. Finally, he muttered, "You won't believe me."

Feeling a familiar spike of anger flare up for the third time in less than a day, Cloud reached out and grasped the other's shoulder in a tight grip, "Try me."

Leon fought off the offending arm and glared back, jaw set and eyes blazing. Then, incongruously, released a long, defeated sigh and turned to look up at the sky, one hand buried itself into his hair. "A dream."

"Say again."

The glare was back, and staring at him straight in the face. "They told me about the location in a dream. I'm as clueless as you are about the 'why' and 'how'. Which is the reason I'm here in the first place. Happy?"

"No, I am not happy! You have got to be kidding me." Cloud was beginning to fathom thoughts of Shiva not only feeding off Leon's magic but his intelligence as well. He flung his arms out and gestured wildly at their surroundings. "All this trouble over a dream? Are you even hearing yourself when you speak?"

Leon grinned weakly, "Told you you wouldn't believe me."

"That's not the point!" Cloud needed coffee. He really really needed coffee. "Explain to me right now, Leon. In detail. What the FUCK is going on. We're not moving an inch from this spot until you give me some answers."

Leon put the map down and slowly pivotted to face him. "We don't have time."

"Then I guess you better start talking." He snapped, resolute. Cooperation, however, was sincerely lacking.

"No."

"For Hyne's sake, Leon-"

"Let me finish, Strife. I'll tell you everything you want to know but not here." The brunet folded the map and re-attached the compass next to the tachometer on his bike. "We'll talk on the way to our next coordinates. I promise. Oh, and another thing.."

Cloud, feeling grudgingly placated, looked up at the pause and slightly contemplative look on the other man's face "What?"

"If Aerith calls you and asks why I'm in Notre Dame, tell her I've decided to take a mini-vacation and take in the sights of the world." Leon grinned and glanced at Cloud's left pant pocket, where he had hid his tracking GPS. "She'll probably be pissed but at least that will keep me off the committee emergency radar for a little while more." And without waiting for a reply, he revved his engines and signalled for them to head off.

Cloud shook his head in resignation and marvelled at the irony of the situation, that the stalker had joined forces with the stalkee and were both currently on the opposing end of the only person who's wrath they were both afraid of but would never admit, not in a million years.

TBC