It really has been awhile since I've last updated this story and my writing skills are a little rusty so if it sounds too much like a script or just doesn't flow right, let me know through a review. If this is the case, I'd really appreciate it if someone could let me know so I can improve my writing. With that said, I'll end this by saying that I hope you enjoy reading this and that it somewhat makes up for the very long wait. I will have another update soon :)

Disclaimer: Crisis Core belongs to Square Enix and yadda yadda yadda...you get the drill

Sora's eyes slowly opened to the sunlight that was beaming from the window across from him. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked over at the bed adjacent from his to see his best friend, Roxas, still fast asleep.

"Wow, even an earthquake won't wake this guy up." Sora chuckled, slightly grimacing as his friend let out a rather loud snore. Pushing his covers aside, Sora stood up to loosen his muscles with a big stretch before heading to the door to go outside. Just before his hand was about to turn the doorknob, he heard a high-pitched scream coming from downstairs.

"That sounded like Mom. What's going on?" he thought worriedly, quickly opening the door and running towards the balcony. Keeping himself partially hidden behind a wall, he crouched down, peering between the wooden bars of the railing with curiosity at the scene below...

"We're not lying." a Turk by the name of Rude said, adjusting his shades. "Zack Fair has been killed in a battle against one of those monsters roaming around outside of Midgar."

Aerith was sitting on the floor of the living room, sobbing hysterically. "I don't believe a word of this! I know that Shinra is hiding something from us!" Leon and Cloud were both kneeling on either side of her, trying their best to calm her down.

A red-haired Turk named Reno snorted, crouching down to her eye-level. "Lady, if you don't want to believe us that's-". Further words were cut off by Aerith's palm as she hit him with a resounding slap.

"Don't you 'lady' me! You scumbags are hiding something, I know it! You better tell me the truth or so Shiva help me-" Quickly, Leon and Cloud grabbed her arms before she could land any more slaps on the Turk.

"Please, calm yourself, Mom!" Cloud exclaimed, trying his best to be gentle with his mother as she continued to struggle to try and hit the insulting Turk. "This isn't like you! I know it's hard to accept this news about Dad, but please, compose yourself."

Realizing this, Aerith stopped her struggling, turning and burying her face into Cloud's shoulder to shed more tears. He let go of her arm, embracing her instead.

"It's ok, Mom. We understand..."

"Reno, Rude. That's enough." another male's voice interceded. Leon stood up, clenching his fists. He was going to pummel the next Turk who disrespected his mother or father. However, when he saw it was the leader of the Turks, Tseng, he relaxed.

"I will speak with Aerith. You two are to stay guard outside. Alert me and the other Turks at the chopper immediately if you see Hojo, SOLDIERs, or any of the Shinra Army Captains." Tseng ordered the two Turks.

Reno stood up with a grin, whipping out his EMT and turning up the weapon's electrical charge until a crackling sound could be heard by everyone in the room. "Heh. Glad you said that because consoling people just isn't my style."

Without a word, Rude pushed his partner outside, causing the red-head to trip across the porch and down the small steps, landing face-first on the dampened grass. With a mud-streaked face, Reno angrily got to his feet, pointing his weapon at the taller man.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"You stand guard there." Rude said, pulling his black leather gloves taut as he walked along the porch and took a seat on one of the rocking chairs. "I'll guard here."

Tseng ignored the scene his men were causing and closed the door behind him, turning to face Aerith, Cloud, and Leon. "It will tend to get noisy with my men yelling about like that and this is a matter that must be addressed."

Aerith wiped her swollen eyes with a small handkerchief . "So there is something more to this."

"Yes, there is." he replied. "But here is not a good place to talk about this, especially since you said that some Shinra military personnel visited yesterday to inform you about your husband. So whenever you are ready, we should probably talk someplace more quieter."

"The guest bedroom upstairs will do." she said, standing up. "Let's go."

Back at the balcony, Sora hastily crawled back to the room, closing the door quietly behind him before going over to Roxas, who was still fast asleep.

"Roxas, wake up."

"Mmph...five more minutes..."

"No, get up! Now!"

"...sleepy..."

Disgruntled at his futile attempts, Sora went to the end-table and pulled out a small water gun from the drawer. Aiming it at his friend's face, he pulled the trigger, squirting him with ice-cold water.

In a heartbeat, a startled and outraged Roxas sat up, wiping off the offending water from his face with his hands. "What did you do that for?! Now you got my shirt all wet!"

"Well, if I didn't do that, you wouldn't have woken up!" Sora retorted, giving his friend another short squirt of water in the face.

Roxas wiped his face again and quickly snatched the water gun from the giggling boy. "Gimme that!" In retaliation, he started to squirt Sora with the water gun as well, his anger turning into laughter at the sight of Sora failing at his attempt to block the water from hitting his face. This continued until the water finally ran out, giving Sora a reprieve.

"Ok ok. You got me. Now that I got your attention, I gotta tell you something." he said, wiping his face with a small dry towel he had found in the bottom drawer of the end table. Taking another one from the pile, he tossed it over to his friend.

"I hope it's important or I swear, I'm going to make you eat mud for waking me up like that." Roxas muttered, tossing the toy gun carelessly aside and taking the towel to dry his face.

Sora was quick to get right to the point. "The Turks are here and they're in the guest bedroom talking about my Dad. I don't know what they're talking about, but I'm not going to stay here and miss out on it."

"Let's go then! What are we waiting for?" Roxas said, jumping out of the bed and going to the closet to grab a set of dry clothes.

"So that's what happened." Aerith said dejectedly, her watery eyes lowering to the floor.

Tseng showed no expression on his face. "Yes. I wish we had figured his coordinates out sooner, but the army beat us to it. I'm truly sorry, Aerith."

"So you just came here to tell us how you Turks screwed up and couldn't find my Dad on time!" Leon exclaimed, his voice rising in anger. "And you just want us to accept it like everything will be alright?"

In response, the Turk simply fished for something in his inner coat pocket. "I know that nothing I say will comfort you, but if it will provide some solace, your father did write a letter. When Cissnei saw him at Gongaga a month ago, he gave her this and later, after we found his body, she told me to give it to you."

Aerith's tear-streaked face slowly rose at seeing him produce the letter from his coat. With a shaky hand, she gently took the envelope from his hand, taking out and unfolding the paper in it. Cloud and Leon stood behind her, leaning slightly forward to read their father's last words to them...

Aerith,

If you're reading this, then the Shinra have won. I wish I could see you all again one last time, but it looks like the company didn't let me. This is going to sound really crazy, but the Turks are going to help you all get out of Midgar...far away from this whole mess. I'm not their only target, the whole family is too, especially you, Aerith. I know you, Cloud, Leon, Sora, and Roxas want to know so badly about why Shinra was after me and I wish I had the luxury to write all the answers here in this letter, but my time is limited and so is yours. Hojo has plans for us and unless you want to find out what those are, please get yourselves out of Midgar. I can't stress this enough.

And please...don't be saddened by this news. We'll see each other again, I promise.

-Zack

"What does Hojo want with us?" Leon asked, looking up at Tseng. "From what I remember, Dad talked with the company to make sure that bastard wasn't going to come near us." Suddenly, his eyes widened in realization. "Unless..."

"That restriction order is no longer in effect as of this moment." the Turk explained, his keen eyes momentarily noticing two pairs of eyes peeping through the slightly ajar door nearby. Looking back at the trio, he continued. "With Zack dead, Shinra has repealed it several days ago after the President received a report from a Shinra captain. I will make sure Hojo doesn't get near this place and preparations have been made for your escort to Twilight Town. Bring only what you will need with you and leave everything else behind."

Cloud raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "How did you figure the plan out before we read this letter?"

"We did not read that letter. Your father relayed that exact plan to us upon handing Cissnei the letter."

"But why Twilight Town of all places?" Aerith asked. "That's a different world far away from here and won't Shinra be able to track our whereabouts?"

Tseng shook his head. "Not necessarily. The Shinra only rule the cities and towns of this planet. Any place beyond this world is not under their jurisdiction. Twilight Town is a good place because the company doesn't know of this world and will never know if it either."

"And why is that?" Leon asked, crossing his arms.

"There is a mirage portal that can easily be overlooked by anybody, unless you have a good eye to see through it. If you don't, you won't see Twilight Town's world at all. Those folks were smart to start building their towns and cities there."

"So I'm assuming that you'll know how to see through this mirage portal then?" Aerith inquired with a hopeful look on her face.

He merely gave them a small smile. "Would I be sitting here, telling you about this, if I didn't know?"

Aerith folded the letter and tucked it into the envelope before handing it to Cloud. "Take that to Sora and have Roxas return home before sunset so his mother doesn't worry again."

"Roxas's mother has already left Midgar for Twilight Town." Tseng said. "She left this morning. We sent her there for security measures."

Cloud took the letter anyway. "I'll bring the boys in here then." Before he can head for the door, it opened, revealing both Sora and Roxas. Upon seeing the two, Leon wrapped his arm around them playfully, giving each of them a noogie.

"So, you two have been snooping on our conversation this whole time, eh? You know what big brothers do to little brothers that go eavesdropping like that?"

"L-leon..." Sora grunted. "Lemme go, big brother!"

"We were just curious! We swear!" Roxas seconded as the two continued to struggle against the iron-like grip.

Aerith stifled a giggle at her sons' antics. "Alright, Leon. I think they've had enough."

"We should get back to the matter at hand." Tseng reminded them. "The sooner you all leave Midgar, the better."

Leon freed Sora and Roxas, his face becoming serious once more. "Yeah, we should get leaving when we can." He looked at Tseng. "Will an hour be enough for us to gather the things we'll be needing?"

The Turk nodded. "Yes, but no more than an hour. Make sure you only bring the things you need. The new house you'll be moving to in Twilight Town-"

"HOUSE?!" the family exclaimed in unison, their eyes now wide with surprise.

"Yes, a house." he repeated, glancing at his watch before standing up. "I will give you all the rest of the details about this later. Right now, you should all go and pack the stuff you will be bringing with you. Meet me at the backyard in an hour." With those words, he promptly left the room, leaving the door open.

There was a moment's silence before Leon began walking towards the door as well, stopping to turn and face his family.

"Well, you heard the Turk. We got one hour so let's get packing." With nods of agreement, everyone except Aerith exited the bedroom, leaving just her and Leon.

Aerith's eyes remained transfixed on Leon. For a moment, she swore she had seen Zack's image in him. "Zack...I wish you were here to see how all of your sons have grown. You would be really proud of them..."

Leon had been watching his mother with some concern as she continued to sit there, staring at his eyes in awe. "Mom, are you alright?"

"Huh?" she asked, quickly snapping out of her reverie.

With a serene smile, he walked over to her and went down on one knee, taking his mother's hands in his gloved ones. "You were thinking about Dad just now, weren't you?"

Immediately, the half-Cetra's face flushed a tinge of pink. "H-how did you know?"

Her son gave a small chuckle. "Mom, I know you're thinking about Dad when you sit and gaze at me like that."

"I'm sorry. I just miss your father so much...the way that you spoke to us earlier when you told everyone to go and pack their stuff...the way you said it and the way you gestured...it was just like how your father would act in a situation like this."

Leon gently let go of her hands and wrapped his arms lovingly around her. "Why are you being sorry? I understand. We understand the pain you're going through. I mean, c'mon. He was the greatest dad I could ever have! I'm sure you would say, bragging to the world about how great of a husband he is to you."

At this moment, Aerith could not refrain from shedding her tears. "Yes, I miss him so so much. Your father was one who would always uphold to his promise, but I'm not so sure how he's going to fulfill his promise of seeing us again. I mean, if Shinra really..." The sentence couldn't be finished as more tears streaked her face. Leon simply gave his mother a small squeeze in reassurance.

"I'm not sure either, to be honest with you, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." Breaking from the embrace, Aerith took out the small handkerchief once more to wipe her face.

"You're right. He wouldn't make a promise he couldn't keep. That's how honorable your father was."

"Exactly." Leon said, giving his mother a silly grin. "Now, shall we go and get ourselves ready for the long journey?"

Aerith giggled. "I swear, you really do act like your father sometimes."

To be continued...