Aerith & Tifa

[Elario Luminus]

Leon nodded once.
'I've head Cloud mention it once or twice. Although, he didn't explain properly what it is. Or what it does. He's just merely mentioned it.'
Griever glowed green again, and more energy flowed back into Leon.

[Tifa Lockhart]

"Alright then, you seem curious so i'll explain it." Zack began to pace in a circle.
"All worlds have a core, and this core is made up of an energy that is in fact the souls of that planets past and future life. My people call it the "Lifestream" and some time ago, the power thirsty president of Shinra Manufacturing found a way to harness this power and use it as an energy source, like electricity. His scientists also discovered that it could be used on the human body at varying levels of success." Zack stopped his pacing and grimaced at this.
"Some people had an adverse reaction and either became addicted or poisoned... they usually died. And then some, took on new abilities like rapid healing and heightened phsyical strength and mental ability. Shinra called a specific group of the Mako enhanced men SOLDIER." He gestured to himself, though his expression showed no pride.
"A short while back something happened and the SOLDIER's rebelled with Cloud and I at their lead.... but we were stopped and taken prisoner by the Presidents scientist Hojo." he spat the name out like it was poison.
"But anyway, lots of people oppose the use of Mako because it's taking away from the life of the planet... Cloud, the others and I, were fighting to stop it when those black creatures showed up..."

[Elario Luminus]

Leon growled during all of Zack's explanation, but almost roared when he mentioned the Heartless.
'Now it's my turn. Those black creatures that attacked everyone's home worlds? They're called Heartless. They're spawned from the darkness in everybody's heart. Pure though my intentions are, I have a darkness in me. When someone succumbs to that darkness, it spreads though their being, eventually turning them into a Heartless.'
Leon hung his head and put a hand to his brow in a mixture of sadness, regret and hate.
'Forgive me of my bitterness, but I'd lost everything to the darkness. I arrived in a world named Traverse Town alone. I'd met Aerith first, quickly followed by Yuffie. I didn't get to meet Cloud till he arrived in Radiant Garden. But...no matter how hard I looked, I found no-one from my own world. I had friends in Traverse Town and Radiant Garden, but in a way, I was still alone. I understand your position Zack, but I'm still a tiny bit worse off than you are right now. You have a best friend in the same area as you.'
Leon let his hand drop, and lifted his head.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Zack nodded and turned to glance over his shoulder at Tifa, who was still chatting idly with Sora.
"True Leon. But are you really as alone as you think?" The dark haired SOLDIER raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.
He didn't pursue this any further, instead he moved onto something else. "You know, Rinoa said your name was Squall." The SOLDIER lifted an eyebrow again.
"As best friend to a man with a similar mind to yours, i can only assume that you abandoned that name for your new one in hopes of escaping the shame of failure... am i right?" Despite this question, Zack didn't pause. He knew he was prying, but sometimes it needed to be done.
"For all our superhuman abilities, me and Cloud could do no more to protect our home than you could yours. Your only one man. Don't judge yourself so harshly"
Zack shrugged and turned away, figuring he'd leave it there.

Talking about Cloud... and the darkness... and what had happened on their world brought back so many horrible, painful memories. He thought about Cloud now, chasing Sephiroth across the worlds in order to fix that which he had broken.
No doubt Cloud blamed himself for everything Sephiroth had done... but under the circumstances, Cloud was really no more responsible than any of them were... what had happened, had happened.
Stop pushing yourself man... just come home.

[Elario Luminus]

Leon frowned at Zack's first question as he watched the SOLDIER move off.
What..?

[Tifa Lockhart]

The Highwind's computer began to beep, and Sora ran over to it, typing in a short sequence of keys before he turned to everyone.
"We'll be landing in a minute." He announced, hitting the intercom. "Riku to the bridge for landing."
Moments later the azure haired man arrived and leaped into the copilots seat and he and Sora began to land the Gummi ship in the middle of a large open desert.

[Elario Luminus]

Leon sighed and steeled himself for what may come. He grabbed his gunblade and shut everything out of his mind, as he did on a SeeD mission. The ship landed with ease and he punched a button to open the door. As the door opened, he was hit by a wind blast of sand. He grunted and covered his eyes, waiting for the wind to clear off. When it did, Leon stepped out of the Highwind, his boots crunching on the dirt.
'Rinoa...where are you..?'

[Tifa Lockhart]

"The city is only a couple of minutes that way." Zack said, who was standing beside Leon already, Sora, Riku, Kairi and Tifa trailing up the rear.
In the distance through the sandstorm the bleary outlines of a ramshackle city could be seen.
Zack immediately began walking.
"Follow me." He instructed.

[Elario Luminus]

Leon followed Zack closely by his side.
'Zack...can I ask you a few things..?'
He looked at the black haired man, then back to in front of him.
'When I spoke to you about the Heartless you asked me if I was really all that alone. What did you mean by that? And...'
Leon looked down, eyes on his feet.
'...what am I gonna say to her? "Sorry I failed, I'll be better next time"?'

[Tifa Lockhart]

Zack laughed inwardly, though he knew it wouldn't be appropriate out loud.
"Or you could try, "Hey honey, i've got this sweet ride. Wanna go for a spin?"' Now he did laugh, even despite himself.
"Dont beat yourself up. She doesn't blame you... didn't even mention what happened even once. She just said she HAD to find you. Just tell her you missed her, you're glad she's safe and you want to take her home." He looked sidelong at Leon and thought about dodging the initial question, but decided it would be better if he answered.
"What i meant was that they're out there somewhere, thinking of you. You're in their heart as they are in yours. As long as you think about them from time to time, you can never really be alone now, can you?"

[Elario Luminus]

Leon frowned slightly, thinking about that one.
'I guess you're right.'
He thought about what Zack first said, and chuckled to his comment.
'I'll be sure not to mention what happened back in Balamb...I'm sure she's trying hard not to think about it.'

[Tifa Lockhart]

"We all try not to think about it." Zack said, "Some succeed better than others."

The town was now encroaching around them. The street was strangely empty, but loud music was coming from somewhere and there was a large group of horses picketed outside the largest building in the town.
"Hey look we're in luck!" Zack chimed, "She might actually be dancing right about now." he approached the Saloon door and pushed it open shoving his way mercilessly through the foul smelling crowd to try and get closer to the stage.

[Elario Luminus]

Leon swallowed deeply as he entered the bar, and instantly had his characteristic glare on his face. He pushed people out of the way as he worked his way towards the stage a different way from Zacks. He got near the front and had to hold in his rage and shock as he saw Rinoa.

Rinoa twirled around a pole slowly, her bright blue costume shining in the light. She span around it again and bent down on it, looking out at the crowd with a very fake sexy look on her face. Her eyes widened as she saw Squall, and she stopped, instantly ashamed of what she was doing. She jumped clear off the stage and into Squall, sending them both into the floor. She hugged him tightly.

Leon had his arms around Rinoa as quickly as he could, hugging her as hard as he could. The men in the bar, silenced by what just happened, began roaring in outrage and anger.
'What're ya doin' with our lass, partner!?'
'That's against the law! Someone git tha Sheriff!'
Leon quickly got annoyed, and pushed Rinoa off him. He stood up and whispered to Rinoa 'Wait outside...' before turning to face the crowd.

Rinoa nodded as Squall whispered to her, and dashed out of the saloon as quickly as she could. She ran around the back to where the dressing rooms were and grabbed her normal clothes. She got changed and ran back out, waiting near the front door for Squall to return.

Leon unsheathed his gunblade, the lion engraving on the blade already glowing.
'The girl is mine. Leave her alone. Zack!?'

[Tifa Lockhart]

Tifa, Sora, Riku and Kairi were by Rinoa's side the moment she emerged from the bar.
"You must be Rinoa!" Sora said with a smile. "I'm a long time friend of Leon's. Pleasure to meet you." Despite his casual manner, his keyblade was drawn and ready to fight off anyone. So was Kairi's and Riku's, and Tifa stood in a ready position.

Zack meanwhile, had heard Leon's cry and stolen a pistol from one of the cowboys. He climbed up on the stage and fired the weapon up at the roof several times. The cries of outrage fell silent for a moment.
"All of you shut up and listen! Your pretty little dancing girl is coming with us. She's going HOME. You'll just have to find someone else to get entertainment out of!"
The men nearest the stage bellowed in rage and leaped up at Zack, who felled them with a brush of his arm as he moved to draw his sword, making the movement look unintentional.
"As usual, diplomacy has failed us." The dark haired man scowled, brandishing his Buster Sword.
"Come and get me!" He then looked up at Leon and gestured towards the door, a signal that meant.
I'll handle them, you get Rinoa and the others and go!

[Elario Luminus]

Leon nodded to Zack, intending to listen for only a short period. He turned and shoved his way through the crowd that was headed towards Zack. He burst out of the doors and pulled Rinoa into a kiss, hugging her tightly.
'Sorry I took so long...'
He looked up at Tifa, serious once more.
'Tifa, can you get Rinoa out of here? Zack and I need to get something done first...'

Rinoa frowned at the small spiky-haired kid when she heard "Leon".
'Who..?'
She was silenced by Squall's kiss and blushed a little, the heat in her cheeks staying even after he'd stopped. She couldn't help but smile slightly as she watched Squall quickly take charge of the situation.
Just like him...he hasn't changed at all.
Rinoa nodded when Squall asked Tifa to take her away from there; she hated it, and wanted to see the back of it as fast as possible. She let go of Squall, whispering 'I'll be waiting' as she walked off.

Leon smiled after Rinoa, content with what was happening. He turned away and walked back into the saloon, gunblade drawn. He pulled back the hammer and pulled the trigger hard, the bullet firing three times harder than usual. The shot silenced the bar again, its inhabitants turning to face Leon this time.
'Hey! The only place Rinoa's going is with me! If you have a problem...'
He clicked back the hammer again, letting the threat hang. He span his gunblade around shortly and swung it down, the point almost touching the ground.