Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine. Mwahaha, second chapter! So I slipped some exposition in this one, because I realized that I'm always talking about the 'Alliance' and the 'Council' and never explain what the Hell I'm talking about. I've only been called out on it once, but I don't like not making sense, so…yeah…Any and all constructive feedback is always appreciated!

..:--X--:..

Chapter Two: Fortress

No matter how determined Sora was to get up and get answers, his body had other ideas.

By the time he woke up, it was a quarter past three in the afternoon and he felt like his bones had been packed full of lead, making any movement impossible. Kairi seemed to have made it her top priority to spend every waking moment in his room in the hospital wing with him. He was sure somewhere deep down he was appreciative, but at the moment, he just wanted to be left alone.

Was that too fucking much to ask? It was bad enough that more than half of the Council was dead, and those that had survived were scarred and shredded, but did she have to be here, mother henning and fussing over him, all perfect and beautiful and innocent? Honestly.

Sora maintained his silent status even as nurses came and went, changing the dressing on his shoulder and his hand and checking his other wounds and vitals. Some of them attempted cheerful small talk, but he didn't reward any of them with a single syllable. Why should he? It didn't escape his notice that he hadn't seen any the other survivors. They were all stuck in beds somewhere else in the wing, either by force from medical staff or by necessity from their bodies.

The pain killers had long worn off, but the damned morphine pump was set on a fixed dose. No matter how many times he pressed the button, the discomfort didn't ease. The discomfort would have eased a lot faster if Kairi had stopped trying to cheer him up and had stopped looking like some broken, abandoned sob story. What did she want? Huh? A smile? A hug? No. Just—just no.

"Who's not dead?" He asked.

Kairi looked at him so fast her neck cracked. "What?"

Sora swallowed slowly. "Who survived?"

The excitement in her eyes upon hearing him finally speak died quickly and her shoulders dropped. "Leon and Tifa, Belle, King Mickey, and Hercules. The others—"

"I know what happened to the others." Sora said briskly.

Kairi sat in the chair next to his bed, folding and unfolding her hands across her lap, fidgeting. "Queen Minnie is holding it together, but some other representatives are already struggling for power. They—They want to declare war."

"We're already in a war." Sora hissed.

The door opened slowly and they both glanced over to see Donald and Goofy peeking in. The two warriors' eyes lit up upon seeing Sora awake.

"Sora!" Goofy smiled and hurried over to his side.

Donald was more hesitant, but no less enthusiastic. "You're awake!"

They were okay. That was a relief. While he couldn't coerce a true Sora Smile to his face, he managed a small smile and moved his good arm around Goofy's back when his friend hugged him. Maybe they could better fill him in on what was happening in the Alliance. Kairi was still in a state of shock, and Sora didn't think he could handle her teary-eyed attempts to comfort him. He didn't need comfort. He needed answers.

"Hey, I'm glad you guys are okay." He responded belatedly.

Goofy and Donald beamed at him, standing on the other side of the bed from Kairi. The smiles didn't reach their eyes, and Sora knew they were trying to maintain a happy façade for him. Exhaling, he looked down at his mutilated hand, and then immediately back up at their faces.

"What's going on?" He asked, not caring how toneless he sounded.

Goofy's grin faltered, but Donald just gave up, shoulders drooping, beak flattening. Kairi looked from one to the other, biting the corner of her lip.

"Just tell me. Please." He said softly.

"It's not good, Sora." Donald started slowly. "The entire building is just rubble. The fires are still burning, but so far they haven't salvaged anything. The Queen has taken control of the remaining Council, but the other systems are already breathing down her neck, trying to make her appoint new representatives."

Sora pinched the bridge of his nose. "How is she holding up?"

Goofy stood straighter, "Queen Minnie is strong and brave. She's handling it the best she can under the circumstances."

Sora looked at him swiftly. "The circumstances? What about Mickey?"

Donald sighed, "He hasn't woken up yet. They said he's in a coma."

Kairi stood up. "That's enough, guys. Sora, you need to rest—"

"I've been resting for four days now." He replied.

Kairi pursed her lips, "And you're still bed ridden. Please, Sora, let your body heal before you try to shoulder all of this weight."

Sora knew she was just trying to help, but didn't she realize how dangerous and time-restrained the world was becoming? There wasn't enough time for him to lie around and take it easy. They had to take action now. He rolled his head to face Donald and Goofy.

"Who did this?"

No one answered him.

"Who did this?" He repeated, slowly and deliberately.

Donald and Goofy exchanged looks. Donald sent an apologetic glance to Kairi before looking at Sora and responding. "We don't know yet."

"What?" Sora sat up.

Pain riddled across his shoulder, making his breath come faster. Kairi and Goofy immediately came to his aid, easing him back. Kairi turned to call for a nurse. Sora grabbed her elbow.

"No. Don't." He looked back to Donald. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

Donald dropped his gaze, "It's been chaos since the attack, Sora. Whoever attacked us, they haven't contacted us in any way. No additional threats or communication. The Council is in no state to maintain order, and the Queen—this is too big for one person to handle."

Sora narrowed his eyes. "We'll see about that."

He pulled the blankets aside and started to swing his legs to the edge of the bed. Kairi gasped and Goofy grabbed Sora's ankle. Donald held his hands up placatingly.

"No, Sora, please—"

"Just take it easy—"

"We're handling this the best we can—"

Sora went rigid, staring at them fiercely. "Most of the Council is dead. The representatives are dead. Headquarters is gone. No one knows who did it, and you're telling me to take it easy?"

"Yes." Kairi cut in. "Tifa is the head seat of the Council right now. She's working with the Queen to keep some semblance of order."

"Leon—"

"He woke up yesterday, but only for a few minutes."

"What shape is Tifa in?"

Kairi grimaced at his words, but answered. "One leg is broken, her ankle is twisted, she broke a few ribs, and she lost her left eye."

Sora double took. "Lost as in—"

Kairi looked at him incredulously. "As in her left eye is gone."

Sora nodded slowly, "What about Leon? You said he woke up."

Goofy interrupted. "His leg was damaged badly, but he didn't lose it. One of his lungs was crushed and he lost a lot of blood, but he's pulling through."

Sora ran a finger along the edge of the bandage running down his cheekbone. "Hercules."

If anybody had survived relatively healthy, it was definitely him.

"He's enforcing Tifa's orders." Goofy answered immediately.

"Good." At least somebody was doing something around here. Sora inwardly grimaced at the harshness his thoughts were taking.

Kairi was rubbing her forehead. "Can we talk about something besides the attack?"

Sora averted his eyes. "Fine. Who else is taking action?"

Kairi groaned, but Sora ignored her.

Goofy started counting off on his fingers. "Phil, Yao, Chin-Po, and Ling are in Radiant Garden, leading the rescue and recovery team. Meg, Sally, and Daisy are standing as acting ambassadors, visiting the other worlds to ream in more information and spread comfort."

Again with the comfort thing. Sora couldn't wrap his mind around how comfort was supposed to make anything better. Maybe he could have understood before, but that was before.

Goofy continued. "Beast took Belle back to Enchanted Castle last night. She had a concussion and a broken collar bone, and she had to have her knee replaced. Mulan and Jane are…making arrangements."

Sora flinched. Right. That. He didn't want to think about that. He'd think about what the funerals meant later. He had living people he needed to protect.

"The army—" He started.

"We've been taking care of that." Donald cut him off sternly.

Sora rubbed his eyes exasperatedly but didn't press further. It was obvious that they didn't want to elaborate further, in topic or conversation. He didn't feel much up to prying for more information anyway.

"Thanks for telling me, guys." He said tiredly after a moment. Their shoulders visibly sagged with relief at this signaling of the end of the interrogation. "I'm glad you're okay."

Goofy wiped his eyes. "We were worried about ya, Sora."

Donald nodded once, stiffened, and folded his arms. "I wasn't. I knew you'd be fine."

Sora offered a look of gratitude. "Yeah. I—I think I want to be alone for a while…to digest some of this?"

Donald and Goofy immediately straightened and nodded.

"Sure, yeah, whatever you need." Donald said.

"Don't hesitate to ask." Goofy added.

"Thanks, guys." Sora said quietly.

Kairi stood up too. "I'm going to check on Tifa."

"You should get some sleep too." He suggested.

Kairi rubbed her arms. "Yeah, probably. I'll be back later."

She looked like she wanted to hug him or hold him or something, but she also looked timid and settled for just touching his wrist before leaving with Donald and Goofy, closing the door behind her.

As soon as the door clicked closed, Sora sagged on the bed, reclining his head over the top of the pillows and biting his lip. Damn measured morphine doses. He snatched up the pump and depressed the nozzle. By some miracle, the pain killer pulsed down the line and greeted his blood. Vainly attempting to stifle a groan of relief, he closed his eyes.

No leads. No one had any idea who had orchestrated this attack. Even stranger, no group had stepped forward to take the spotlight for it. In all honesty, it was a genius work. They had been taken completely off guard. The Heartless weren't smart enough to put something like this together, and the Nobodies weren't strong enough and didn't have the numbers to back it up. That narrowed it down to humans.

The Heartless and Organization XIII had had their share of followers and loyalists. Human beings had betrayed their own race, their own realm of light, to join forces with that evil filth. Some of those groups were still out there. Their numbers were small and dated. The Alliance hadn't taken the fanatics and small band of terrorists seriously. They hadn't been a threat.

Well, how about now?

Over the course of the next two hours, Sora lay as still as possible, minimizing soreness and pain, mentally listing off all of the right wing groups that would have had the balls to launch an assault on the most powerful organization in the realm. The list was short and lacking. He considered that perhaps the groups had joined together, but that was a vain effort. Heartless and Nobodies hated each other, as did their followers. Their mutual goal would have drowned in their contempt for each other.

What had the Council missed? What had Sora missed?

Overthinking was making him fidgety, and after a while Sora pried his eyes open to find his room still empty. Nobody had snuck in with some valiant thought of 'watching over him'. That was a relief. Gritting his teeth, he abstained from releasing another doze of morphine. He needed to talk to the others, preferably while not under the influence of drugs.

He punched at the buttons on the bed until the frame shifted, lifting him so that he was almost sitting totally upright. Hating how weak he felt, he moved his legs to hang off the edge of the mattress. His knee was still throbbing and painful, but it would hold his weight. His left arm hung uselessly beside him. It had fallen asleep earlier and he couldn't move it without his shoulder aching. His right hand…just no.

Sora had just bent over to stand off the bed when a shrill voice sounded behind him.

"What are you doing? You shouldn't be up!" The nurse bustled in, fussing and starting to hustle him back into bed.

Sora shook his head. "No, I need to see Tifa."

"Miss Lockhart is in no condition to see visitors, and you are in no condition to go see her!" The nurse squabbled.

Sora groaned in frustration and thought back. Riku had been in the hospital a few months ago and had never had this problem with nurses. Of course, his friend had either flirted or threatened his way out, and Sora was in no mood to flirt.

With this in mind, he glared at the nurse, "I'm going to see Tifa."

The nurse met his eyes and stilled. She was a large woman, not one to feel threatened by a guy who could barely sit up, but she was hesitating. That gave Sora the opportunity he needed.

"Take out the IV and the morphine. I don't need them." He said measuredly.

The nurse narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes, you do, son."

Sora tilted his head. "Fine, if you won't—" He reached over to pull the tubes out himself.

"All right, all right, fine, just stop it." She swore under her breath before removing the lines from his limbs. "Take it easy."

"I'm done taking it easy." He said hoarsely.

He sat still just long enough for her to put bandages over where the IV had been, and then he was gently moving her aside, leaning off the bed to stand on his own. She started to steady him, but Sora waved her off.

"Thank you, now please, just let me be."

"Honey…"

Sora looked at her flatly, "I'm sure there are patients around here who need you a lot more than me."

She didn't argue, just bit her lower lip and sighed. "Do you need anything else?"

Sora started to shake his head, but decided against it. "No. Now go."

The nurse exhaled and turned, "Yes, sir." She left.

Sora waited for the room to stop shaking before he straightened, keeping one hand on the edge of the bed to steady himself. His legs were stiff and sore, especially his knee, but they held, and he thanked the cosmos for small miracles. Now if he could just walk from here to wherever Tifa was. Even though his friends had told him that the Queen was in control, Sora knew she was acting as a figurehead while Tifa seized the reins.

Limping over to the closet, he found scrubs hanging on the rail and tugged them off the hangar, changing out of the hospital gown with more stiffness and clumsiness than he would have liked. It took roughly fifteen minutes to get dressed, and that in itself exhausted him, but there was no way he was getting back in that bed until he knew everything that was going on.

The hospital wing of Disney Castle was as large and extravagant as the rest of it, but Sora found that the longer he walked, the easier it became. The aching in his legs worked itself out and he managed with only a slight limp. After another ten minutes of haggling with the nurse at the desk, he got the room number and made the slow trek to Leon's room, where he was told Tifa had been for the last two hours.

The door was closed and Sora knocked twice. He didn't bother waiting for an answer before he opened the door and stepped inside. Their voices immediately fell quiet and he looked across the room. Leon was sitting up in bed, looking groggy but aware, and pissed off as always. Tifa was in a wheelchair beside the bed, the left side of her face heavily bandaged.

"Sora." Tifa spoke first, her voice raspy and dry.

Leon locked gazes with Sora. "How are you feeling?"

Sora could have laughed at them both. They looked so concerned, but surely they looked twice as bad as he did. Might as well humor them. He lifted his good shoulder in a one-armed shrug and held his hand close to his chest.

"I've been worse. You look better than me."

They looked doubtful about that, but didn't press the matter. Sora refused to limp as he crossed the room, sinking into the chair on the other side of Leon's bed.

"So what's been happening?" He asked flatly.

Leon exhaled, fatigue written all over his face. "They're calling themselves the Fractured Circle."

Sora sat up, all attention on him now. "They?"

Tifa knit her fingers together. "Contact was made yesterday. A video transmission addressed to Queen Minnie. The man on the tape claimed to be the leader of the group, calling himself Corbin Franks. The demands are unconditional surrender."

"Or what?" Sora demanded, looking from Tifa to Leon.

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose. "It doesn't matter because we're not surrendering."

"You're damn right we're not." Sora replied coolly. "Or what?"

Tifa licked her lips, "Franks said the attack last week was a warm up. He claimed to have an arsenal rigged up already in the event that we don't surrender."

"Bluff." Leon interrupted. "This was a one-wave operation. No single group against the Alliance could amass enough ammunition to launch an attack that massive and still have some left over for 'or what'."

Tifa swiveled her neck to look at him. "Then what? We just ignore the threat from the group that just single handedly blew the Council half to Hell?"

"No, but we have to be smart about how we counter." Leon reproached. "We can't just rush the Fractured Circle, half cocked with no idea what we're up against."

Sora leaned in, "You know where they are?"

Leon maintained an expressionless face. "We have presumptions, but no solid leads."

"Of course not." Sora muttered, sitting back in the chair.

The room fell to silence for several seconds, with only the soft thrum of the air conditioning flowing from the vents overhead. Questions were running rampant through Sora's brain, but he couldn't assemble them into coherent thought to ask them. So far all he had was secondhand information, passed along word of mouth. While Tifa and Leon's mouths were the most trustworthy he knew, he had to hear it from the source. He looked them both in the eyes.

"I need to see that tape."

..:--X--:..

Sora and Riku arrived just as the rest of the Council of the Alliance was sitting to begin the meeting. It was bizarre, looking around at them all now, to know that just three years ago, most of these people had been the amateur Restoration Committee. After the war had erupted into full swing, the Committee had mutated into the Alliance, and the Council was appointed to act as a military government of sorts.

The Council convened in the large auditorium-style hall near the heart of the Headquarter Building. Rows upon rows of seats lined in descending circles to center on the table, where the head seat of the Council, King Mickey, sat with Queen Minnie.

Representatives from all of the Allied systems were seated in the rows surrounding the head table, one person per system. The earlier meetings had included the Princesses of Heart, but due to their ambassador schedules and matters of the state, the princesses met at their own time, at a much smaller convention.

As Keybearers, Sora and Riku helped to fill the front row of the first circle, facing the head table. Their ability to summon the Keyblade ranked them as two of the top Allied defenders, along with Leon, Cloud, Yuffie, Cid, and Tifa. Aerith was in the next row, as Radiant Garden's representative.

Craning his neck, Sora glanced back and caught Belle's eye. She smiled and winked, turning her attention back to the conversation she was carrying with Geppetto. While Belle was a Princess of Heart, she was also standing representative until another could be appointed. He winked back at her when Cid elbowed him in the shoulder.

"Hey, watch it." Sora rubbed his shoulder.

Cid frowned his way through a smile.

"I'm just greeting my fellow freedom fighters." Sora swept an arm around innocently.

Riku snorted on his other side, but as Cid started to glare at him, he ducked to quickly engage Yuffie in conversation, leaving Sora stranded. He offered Cid his most innocent smile.

Cid clocked him across the back of the head affectionately and started toward his own seat. "Pay attention, smartass."

Aerith leaned forward, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Don't mind him. He quit smoking yesterday."

A few seats over, Tifa stretched in her seat. "You'd think this war would have caused a lot more people to take up smoking instead of quitting it."

Riku turned around and faced her. "You'd think negotiations for this war would have caused a lot more people to take up smoking."

Tifa made a face at him and on his other side, Yuffie burst out laughing. Cloud sat on Tifa's other side, looking uncomfortable sitting so closely between Tifa and Cid, who had his arms folded and looking as sociable as a bulldog with a hernia. Sora could barely see Leon on Cid's other side, looking just as happy to be there as Cid.

"Psst!"

Sora turned and followed the hiss to see Merlin waving at him from two rows up, sitting with the Sultan of Agrabah and the mayor of Twilight Town, whose name Sora didn't know. Jack Skellington sat behind the old wizard, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Hello there, boys! How are you this morning?" Merlin chirped.

Sora waved back, "Great, how are you?"

Merlin lifted a hand to his mouth as though to whisper, but chirped just as loudly. "I'd be a lot better if that general from Land of Dragons wasn't so touty!"

Sora followed his pointing to where General Shang was trying to ignore Tarzan, who was poking at his armor with fascination. Sora waved an arm dismissively.

"He's always like that."

Riku punched his arm and Sora spun around.

"What is it with people and punching me today?!" He hissed.

Riku pointed toward the head table, where King Mickey and Queen Minnie were making their entrance. The rest of the representatives fell quiet as well as the procession entered. Sora punched Riku back in revenge and wished Donald and Goofy came to these meetings. Then at least he could entertain himself with bugging Donald instead of listening to the political droning of peace negotiations.

As far as he was concerned, there could never be peace with the Heartless or the Nobodies. They had to be wiped out. The people who sided with the Heartless, though, they could be worked with. Not quickly and not trustingly, but it was possible.

King Mickey entered with all the grace a giant mouse could, and Queen Minnie followed after him in equal style, welcoming but with a royal air that Sora couldn't quite pull off. And he'd tried.

The ambassadors for the anti-Allied groups, the enemy basically, were expected to be escorted into the meeting hall two hours into the meeting. That's when the true continuance of the peace negotiations would pick up. So far there hadn't been any scuffle with them, but it only took one incident to put the lock down on the hall and add two tons of tension to the already uncomfortable sessions.

As the quiet continued to still the chamber, King Mickey remained standing as Queen Minnie sat down. He looked around at the gathered representatives and soldiers and his gaze was hard to read. Sora thought he looked far too serious. The war was practically over. Time to lighten up, buddy. The king ignored Sora's mental telegram and lifted the gavel at his side.

"The Council of the Allied Republic of Kingdom Hearts is now in session." He announced, his high pitched voice echoing through the chamber as he clacked the gavel against the table.

Sora was sure his voice was meant to be so much more intimidating and ominous, but…fail. Grinning despite himself, Sora looked down the row past Riku. Everyone else looked so serious. Couldn't they crack a smile? After four merciless weeks of negotiations, today could be the day they reached an agreement. Sour pusses.

Riku caught him staring down the row and lifted a hand, wiggling his fingers to break Sora's focus. Sora blinked and looked at his friend. Riku rolled his eyes in his annoyingly self righteous way and pointed to the head table, the epitome of the superior Keybearer.

Sora stuck his tongue out at him and sat back in his seat, already restless after just five minutes. The first matter of business was…yep…violence in Wonderland. Leon stood to give his report and Sora snickered, pressing his fist against his teeth to stifle the giggles.

It didn't help that Riku was doing the same thing right beside him.