We do not own these people! Can you imagine of we did?

A Heart’s Quest

Chapter 1: Return of an Old Friend

He found himself leaning forward a bit in an effort to see the newcomer better as the blonde man descended the Gummi ship’s ramp. When Scrooge McDuck had contacted him stating he had come across a young man who appeared to have ties with those on Radiant Garden, King Mickey had assumed it was simply another survivor from The Planet. It seemed that world had been populated with very strong-willed, strong-hearted people.

When the old tycoon said that the man had named Squall Leonhart as one of those he was looking for, the king had almost fallen out of his seat.

Now Mickey waited anxiously as the old duck approached, followed closely by a fairly tall, thin blonde; His hair was cut short, bangs shooting straight up. On the left side of his face, nearly surrounding his eye was a rather intricate tattoo. An easy smile lit his face.

Scrooge did not bother with the customary bow before the sovereign. He instead stood formally with his cane and nodded his hated head, “Hello, laddie.”

Mickey grinned. He may have been a king but to the richest duck in the worlds, he would always just be another lad. “How did your venture go?”

Scrooge sighed. “Not nearly as well as I hoped. When I return to Radiant Garden, I’ll prepare a new strategy.”

“Whelp, I’ve not doubt you’ll be successful in the end.” The mouse grinned. He shifted his attention. “Now introduce me to our new friend.”

Apparently, the newcomer decided this was his permission to speak. “You’re King Mickey? Wow, and I thought I’d seen everything after Scrooge here. The name’s Zell Dincht.”

He held out his hand with a large, toothy grin. Suddenly he frowned. “Oh. Am I supposed to bow or something? I’ve never met royalty before.”

Mickey chuckled, deciding he liked this man already. He took hold of the offered hand and shook it. The guy had a very firm grip. “Normally it’s expected but for today we’ll let it slide. Besides, I don’t much like it.”

Zell nodded once.

“Whelp, I hear you’re lookin’ for some friends of yours.” Mickey turned to head up the steps and into the castle. The two proceeded after him.

“Scrooge says there’s a guy he knows who goes by Leon Lionheart who fits his description.” Zell twisted his face. “Course if it is him, I’m giving him hell for that name. It’s fine if he wanted to change it, but couldn’t he come up with something more original?”

Mickey snorted, deciding he definitely liked this man.

--0—0—

Scrooge left them shortly after dinner to rest. With how old the duck must be, Zell had been a bit surprised he had the amount of energy he did. The blonde man now sat with the king in the library, fidgeting.

Mickey sat at a large desk with a quill and a rolled out piece parchment. He had been writing for several minutes now. What he was writing, Zell did not know and he figured it was rude to ask. He was in the presence of a king after all…

The mouse glanced up with a small smile. “You can walk around if you like. I only need you here to answer a few questions. Please feel free to roam the library.”

Zell literally sprang to his feet. He really hated being in one place for too long. He walked along the far wall, randomly shifting his shoulders as if dodging an invisible enemy. “You got a lot of books here.”

“Whelp, I suppose.” Mickey had returned to his letter. “If you ever get the opportunity to go to Beast’s Castle, Belle has a library that rivals this one. Actually, I believe Ansem the Wise’s collection is greater than this one.”

“Huh.” Zell paused before a bust of a chicken in a bonnet. “Who’s this?”

“Clara Cluck. She’s an opera singer.”

The blonde shook his head, still mystified by how different things were around here. “I wonder what kinds of things the others have come across.”

Mickey looked up from his writing. There was clear curiosity to his expression. “Why are you so certain there are others out there?”

“There was a group of us fighting when the Heartless overwhelmed us,” Zell explained. “I could see them right up until the darkness swallowed us up. I guess they could have become Heartless but since I didn’t, I just don’t think they did.”

It was a good theory. With a little more thought, Mickey decided it was an excellent theory. “Have you heard anything that could lead to finding them?”

“A few rumors but I couldn’t make any sense of them.” The man shrugged. “This is the most solid lead I’ve had on anyone.”

“Whelp, I’m sure Leon is going to be shocked to learn you’re here.” Mickey finished writing and set the quill in its stand. “He had given up on any hope of any of you surviving.”

The mouse rolled up the parchment and embossed his seal upon it. He hopped out of his chair and walked toward a narrow pillar just beyond the staircase. It turned out to be some kind of delivery tube. He opened a small panel and placed the letter inside.

There was a faint whoosh sound as the king turned and grinned at Zell. “I’m very curious to see how Squall reacts to this news.”

The man’s eyes widened just a touch. “So it really is him?”

“Yep.”

Zell grinned widely. He jumped lightly, pumping his fist. “Yes! Finally…”

Mickey chuckled in amusement. “As soon as I get word back, we’ll go to Radiant Garden.”

--0—0—

He stared at the letter in his hand in disbelief. After all this time, it could not be true, could it? He was having a very difficult time wrapping his mind around the words written on this piece of parchment.

“Hey, Leon! Cid needs you to-” Yuffie came to an abrupt stop. She frowned and tilted her head. “What’s wrong?”

“...Nothing.”

She stepped closer to peer at him. “It sure doesn’t look like nothing.”

He tried to move away but Yuffie was in her relentless mode. “Aw, come on, Squall. Is it something in that letter? I thought it seemed strange the king was sending you something and not Riku.”

“I don’t know if the king even knows Riku’s here.”

“Oh, he probably does. That mouse knows everything.” Yuffie waved a hand idly.

“Apparently,” mumbled Leon absently.

The ninja girl stopped and really looked at Leon. He seemed quite distressed about something. She frowned and in a surprisingly gentle tone asked, “Really, Leon, what it is?”

Leon studied her a moment. His expression changed and it looked like he was about to answer but abruptly changed his mind. He turned away and left the room.

He felt bad leaving Yuffie like that, but she was not someone with whom he wanted to discuss this. He appreciated her concern but this was likely beyond anything she could help him with. It seemed doubtful that anyone would understand the turmoil that was stirring up within him.

Walking down the street, the letter held tightly in his hand, he tried to remember the last time he had even entertained the idea that there was even a remote chance of any of his old friends having survived. He had given up that hope a long time ago. If no one had been found yet, it was unlikely they would ever be.

This letter had changed everything.

He saw Cloud talking to Aerith in front of the Moogle shop. He changed his direction a bit to head over to them. He was not entirely sure why he was doing this; maybe he simply knew this was too big for his to process on his own.

Aerith glanced over and smiled at him. Cloud flicked his blue eyes at him, a questioning look coming to them. Both stopped talking.

Without word, he handed Aerith the letter. She frowned quizzically, taking it from him. She unrolled it, holding it so that Cloud could read it also. Once finished, they both returned their gazes to Leon.

“Do you think it’s really him?” Cloud asked quietly.

“I don’t know.” The sable-haired man answered. “I want it to be but… It’s been so long.”

“Well, the king says he knew things that only another from your world would know.” Aerith bit her lip. “He seems to be rather certain.”

“…Yeah.”

She angled her head a touch. “How do you feel about this?”

Leon blew out a breath. “Honestly? I don’t know.”

“So have the king bring him and see if it’s him.” Cloud shrugged. “At worst, it’s not and if it is, deal with it then. There’s no point in getting all worked up over something you’re not even certain is true.”

Leon nodded. It was the logical answer. “It will be really strange seeing him again…If it’s him.”

“There’s nothing to indicate it isn’t.” Aerith noted. “Does the description match?”

“Perfectly.”

“Well then,” She smiled brightly. “Let’s just assume it’s really him and be happy that you have one of your old friends back.”

Leon felt a faint grin tug at his lips. He really did hope it was Zell. Perhaps if Zell had made it and fate had seen fit to bring them together, others were out there also. He allowed a bit of hope to be reborn.

“I guess I should write back.” He retook the letter from Aerith. “Better to find out sooner than later.”

--0—0—

Yes, Riku-Rocks and I are insane. Since we loved doing Embrace to Awaken so much we are at again, this time with a different pairing and different idea. I will advise ahead of time, I am no where near as versed in FF8 as I am in FF7 so if there are issues, forgive me. I think I have Zell done fairly well by now.

Thank you all for sticking with us and reviews are welcome. …And I forward them all to Riku-Rocks but I’m sure she would not mind a few pm’s. ::smile::