It's about 1am… Might as well write, right? XD

"So… you're really leaving?" Leon pushed himself from the wall and looked at Cloud, his arms crossed.

"Yeah."

Cloud looked over at Aerith as she walked over, a frown on her face. She closed her eyes, then smiled kindly at him. "Be safe, okay, Cloud?" Cloud paused for a moment, then nodded.

"You're… not mad?" he asked.

"Of course not," she replied.

"We're not going to keep you trapped here, Cloud," Cid said, "Just don't get yourself killed." Cloud nodded slightly.

"Ooh! You're so lucky!" Yuffie whined. "You get to go on an adventure while we have to stay here!"

"Sorry, but you're needed here." Everyone turned to see the cloaked girl walk out of a back room. She was no longer wearing a black cloak. She was still wearing a cloak, yes, but it was black and white (think Xemnas final battle), and had a Nobody symbol on her chest. The hood was still on, and she stopped next to Cloud. She turned to Leon, who looked worried. "Don't worry, Leon. When Hollow Bastion is in the worst of times, we will return." She placed her hand on her chest. "I promise you."

Leon looked at Cloud, who nodded, then looked back at her. "Alright."

She smiled, then turned to Cloud. "Are you ready to go?" He nodded.

"Don't go messin' up my ship, you hear me?" Cid asked.

"We won't," Cloud responded monotonously. He turned to her. "Come on."

"Okay." She and he turned to leave, but Merlin stopped her. Cloud looked back, but she told him to go ahead. "Merlin?"

"Ah, sorry, but there was one other thing I wished to give you." When she raised an eyebrow, he took something out of his pocket and handed it to her. A Keychain. "What's this…?"

"Think of this as a sort of present. From all of us," Aerith explained, "We were really happy because Cloud was finally talking to someone. He's finally breaking out of his shell, even if it's just a tiny bit. We want to help him, which means helping you." The girl looked at the keychain and smiled widely.

"Thank you very much."

"Not a problem, my dear. And we promise not to say a single thing about you." She smiled at him thankfully.

"Sayomi."

She turned to the door to see Cloud. "Right, sorry." She smiled and turned to the rest of the committee. "Well, see ya!" Sayomi turned and ran over to Cloud, and they both left.

"Sayomi… That's her name, right?" Aerith asked, looking thoughtful.

"Yeah, why?" Yuffie asked. Aerith shook her head, a smile appearing as she stared at the door.

"It's nothing."

~Gummi Ship: Sayomi and Cloud~

Cloud walked into the ship's Hub, sitting down on the right seat and turning the ship on. Sayomi came in not too long after and sat on the seat next to him. She made sure everything was functioning. "So," Cloud said, "You know how to fly this thing."

"More or less," she replied, "I mean, it's been a while since I've driven one of these things. But I think I remember…" she mumbled the last part.

"Sid is going to kill you if you're reckless with his ship," Cloud stated. Sayomi glared at him from beneath her hood, but said nothing. Cloud looked over at her. "You can take off that hood now, you know. It' not like anyone else is going to see you." Sayomi sighed, stopping what she was doing to put her hands on her lap.

"That's not it… I just…" she grabbed the top of the hood with one hand, "I don't want anyone to see me like this… even you." Cloud frowned, but said nothing else as they shot off into space.

The ride went smoothly, well as smoothly as it could be when they had to fight Nobodies and Heartless in between worlds. "Hey, Cloud?" Cloud "hm'd" in response. There was a silence, then Sayomi shook her head with a faint smile. "Nevermind… It's nothing." Cloud stared at her for a moment, then decided not to ask and just let it go for now.

Sometime during their journey, Cloud had dozed off. Sayomi smiled softly at his sleeping form, then looked down sadly. She flipped on auto-pilot and stood, walking over to the back. She walked into the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror, turning to it. The silence was deafening to her, but she was used to it. Being locked in the Realm of Darkness with nothing to do does that to a person.

She clenched her fists tightly in concealed anger. She sighed deeply and slowly moved her hand to remove her hood… and looked up. She stared sadly at her reflection, moving her hand to the mirror and touching it right under her right, gold eye. Closing her eyes, she recalled a memory… one she would rather forget.

"T-!"

"V-, -ua, Sayomi, now!"

Three people jumped into the air and slashed a large monster, destroying it and making it fade away. Sayomi turned, her red ponytail whipping her face from how fast she turned, and ran over to her three friends. Their faces were a blur, but that did not matter to her. She grinned at the smaller boy, and he grinned back with a slight blush.

"Got 'im!" The elder boy said.

"We make a good team." The girl smiled happily.

"Sure do!" Sayomi grinned widely, twirling her Keyblade before resting it on her shoulder.

"Oh!" The boy exclaimed, getting their attention. "I almost forgot! I got these tickets!" he explained as he took out four tickets. Sayomi leaned forward to read one.

"Disney Town?" Her eyes widened and sparkled. "Oh my God! I've always wanted to go!" she squealed and jumped up and down. The other three looked at her and chuckled. The young boy handed each of them a pass and put away his own. The two eldest smiled and put theirs away as well.

"Thank you." They said. Suddenly, the girl frowned and looked at Sayomi and the boy.

"Listen to me, Sayomi, -. We need to get you home."

"What? Why?" the boy asked.

"It's not safe here," she said, "You could get hurt."

"You too, Sayomi," the girl turned to the older boy, both frowning.

"No way! I've wanted to do this my whole life!"

"Besides, the guy in the mask is history!" What the younger boy said triggered something in the other, and he grabbed his shoulder.

"You saw the boy in the mask? Both of you?!" he looked between him and Sayomi, and both nodded silently with wide eyes. The older boy looked away. "V-ta-." He let go of the shoulder and stood straight. "You two, go home immediately."

"No way! I wanna go with you guys!"

"No, V-. This task we have is dangerous. I don't want you hurt." The girl turned to the boy.

"And what is this dangerous task? That doesn't sound like the task the Master gave you."

"I know it's a different route, but I am fighting my darkness. And I promise you I will win." Sayomi looked away from them with a worried and sad expression, which was only noticed by the younger boy, but he chose not to say anything. Sayomi looked back at them, realizing she missed part of the conversation. "So, you've been spying on me? Is that what you were told to do? Master's orders?"

"He was only trying to…" the girl looked away sadly, not knowing how to explain. Sayomi frowned and looked at the boy.

"-a, please, she didn't mean any harm… I—"

"How would you know, Sayomi?" The girl stiffened slightly. "You… you knew, didn't you? You knew the Master didn't trust me. You knew about my struggle. You spied on me too, didn't you?"

Sayomi's eyes widened. "Wha—No! I would never do that!"

The oldest shook his head, not wanting to hear it, and turned away. "Fine. I get it." He started walking away.

"Terra-!"

"JUST STAY PUT!" The boy's, now known as Terra's, booming voice stopped the younger boy from getting any closer. The boy's eyes widened in fear and shock. "I'm on my own now, all right?" With that, he started to walk away.

"Terra, wait! Please, the Master has no reason to distrust you! Honest! He was just worried!" The girl cried, trying to explain, but to no avail as Terra walked away. When he left, the remaining boy turned to her.

"You're awful…"

Sayomi stayed silent as they exchanged words, then the boy ran off. She watched him run with a sad look on her face, then looked down. When she looked up again, the other girl had left to do something else. She clenched her fists in anger.

Sayomi whipped her eyes open in shock, staring at herself in the mirror, but not focusing. 'His name… I remember it… Why?'

She looked down in thought, then sifted through her pocket for a moment before touching something. She took it out and stared at it. It was a star-shaped charm colored red. It looked like stained glass, and had a silver heart-shape symbol in the middle. It was tied to a brown rope at the top. She squeezed it tightly as a tear fell onto one of the edges. "Terra…"

Suddenly, the ship jolted, shaking her out of her stupor. She stuffed the charm back in her pocket, pulled her hood back up, and ran to the cockpit.

When she got there, Cloud was still asleep, making her internally shake her head. She looked out the window to see Olympus Colosseum. Her eyes widened and she ran to the window, slamming her hands down on the control board and jolting Cloud awake. He rubbed the back of his head and looked at Sayomi. "The hell?"

"We're here! Cloud, look!" she exclaimed happily, pointing to the world. When he looked his eyes widened slightly. Sayomi lowered her hand and looked at the world happily. "It's been so long…"

"Are you ready?" Cloud asked, turning to her. She looked at him silently, then looked down.

"I think so. I just hope Zack doesn't murder me…" she sighed, lowering her head. Cloud stared at her for a moment, moving his hand to pat her back, but stopped before he made contact. He sighed quietly and lowered his arm and stood.

"Let's go." He turned and walked to the transporter. Sayomi nodded and followed. They were teleported to the outer gate of the Colosseum. Sayomi shivered slightly and Cloud looked at her questionably. She chuckled and scratched the back of her head.

"Sorry… Not used to teleporting…"

"And you think I am?"

"…Good point…" she mumbled, turning away. She heard footsteps and looked to see Cloud walking to the gate. He stopped and looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Well?"

Sayomi gulped and followed him as Cloud opened the doors and walked through. The two friends walked through the small courtyard, noting every small change made from their childhood. When they got to the actual entrance, Sayomi froze up again, but not as bad. She walked slower, and Cloud noticed. He sighed and turned to her again. "What are you doing?"

"Walking."

"Yeah, like a snail. Don't forget, you're the one who suggested we come here."

"Because I thought I could handle it! Don't tell me you're not nervous, either!" Cloud shook his head calmly.

"I am nervous."

"Yet you're walking around like you own the place!"

"Because I know Zack won't be angry at me. He knows why I left. You, however…" He turned away and there was a stretch of silence before, "You're screwed."

"Thanks, jerk…" she mumbled angrily. She looked at the gates, her anger melting into worry. Yeah, Zack was going to kill her. Well, not kill her, but it would be better than what he would do, she was sure. She gulped and took steps forward until she was next to Cloud. She took a deep breath. "Okay… I'm ready." Cloud pushed the door slightly, but stopped when Sayomi put a hand on his bicep.

"Hm?"

"If I die, you can have my coat… It'll make you less emo." Cloud's eye twitched slightly, but he nodded and pushed the door open. The two walked into the lobby and looked around.

"Hm? Where's goat-guy?"

"Goat-guy? Really?"

"What?" she looked at him innocently. He just shook his head and walked to the three trophies on the side. He grabbed the blue one and looked at it with a raised eyebrow.

"Can't believe they still have these…"

"Hm?" Sayomi walked over and stared at them with wide eyes. "Our trophies…" 'That's right… The three of us made these trophies during our free time… Cloud's was blue, Zack's was yellow, and mine was red… But… why would they keep them?'

"Earth to Sayomi!" Cloud's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she looked at him sheepishly.

"Sorry about that…" Cloud shook his head and put the trophy back in its rightful spot. Suddenly the ground shook and a loud roar was heard.

"What the-?!"

"Sounds like someone's in the middle of a fight…"

"Want to check it out? I want to see how Herc was doing!" Sayomi exclaimed. Cloud shook his head.

"We should wait. Don't want him distracted." Sayomi sighed.

"Fine… Hey, I'm gonna go back outside. Tell me when the match finishes, okay?" When Cloud nodded, Sayomi ran out to the courtyard, closing the door behind her.

She took a deep breath and walked to the center of the area, looking around at the large, empty area, save a few pots and chests. She smiled softly, remembering all the friends and memories she had here. Friends she abandoned… and memories she wanted to throw away. Her smile turned into a frown. "Nothing's really changed, huh?"

"Nope. Sorry to break it to ya, kid, but nothing ever will."

Sayomi's eyes widened considerably and she got into a defensive stance, summoning out her Keyblade. She knew that voice. And oh God, how she HATED that voice!

"Hey, come on, kid. Don't be like that." A hand rested itself on Sayomi's shoulder, making her stiffen. She quickly turned and jumped back to see Hades.

"Hades! I knew it was you," she growled out, gripping her Keyblade tighter.

Hades held his hands up in mock surrender. "Whoa, whoa. Calm down, kiddo."

"Calm down? You expect me to be calm in front of the one who possessed Zack?" She ran forward and swung her blade at him, but it only went through smoke. She stood straight and turned to her left to see him pop out again.

"And here I am wanting to ask how an old friend was. What a pity. What a shame!"

"I'm not your friend!"

Hades snapped his fingers and he reappeared behind Sayomi, placing an arm around her shoulders and getting close to her. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, my sweet little rose. After all, us creatures of the dark should stay together."

Sayomi looked at him in shock. "How do you know about that?"

"Why get all caught up in the details?" Hades questioned. Sayomi sighed.

"You're so annoying…"

Hades drew back and placed a hand over his heart. "Oh, you wound me."

After a moment, the girl turned to him. "You did keep the promise, right?"

Hades waved her off. "Yeah, yeah. Stay away from Mr. Wannabe Hero. But you have to remember your own side of the deal, remember?" The girl stiffened and frowned.

"I know… Do you a favor."

Hades grinned. "That's right! And when I have the favor, I'll give ya a call. Alright?" He chuckled. Sayomi nodded silently. "That's a good girl! Now I better get goin'. Wouldn't want your little boyfriend to see me, eh?"

"HADES!" Sayomi yelled in anger as Hades disappeared in a puff of smoke. She growled angrily. "I'm gonna kill that God…" She heard the doors open and turned to see Cloud.

"Everything alright?" he asked. She nodded and walked over to him. "The battle's over."

"…Who was fighting?"

"You have two guesses," he said simply. The way he said it made Sayomi deflate.

"Oh no…" She looked down, letting her hands droop to the ground.

"He's waiting." She looked up at him in fear. She stood straight and looked at the intimidating doors, her gold eye showing slightly. She looked down and clenched her fists before walking forward. Cloud followed and closed the door after him. She started to slow down, but Cloud put a hand on her back, forcing her forward.

"Wha-Hey!" She looked back at his hand and tried to fight back, but he pushed her forward into the colosseum, making her stumble. "Gah!" She hit something hard and fell back on her butt. "Oww… Who put a boulder in the way-uhhh…" As she was talking she had looked up, straight into Zack's* face. He was looking at her silently, which made her immediately shrink back and fidget her fighers. "Uh… I-I uh…" She felt a hand grab her arm and pull her up to her feet, but she kept her head down. The hand didn't let go. "Uh… I just, um… You see, I uh…-"

"Sai?" Sayomi stiffened. "Is that really you?" His voice seemed guarded, but there was an underlying tone of happiness.

"…Y-yes…" she mumbled, but he heard it loud and clear. Before he could do anything, though, she started to speak. "I'm sorry… I really am. I-I know I left without saying anything or leaving a note behind but it was really important and I had other friends that needed help and I knew that you and Cloud would be safe I mean come on it's not like you guys are weaklings and you guys aren't exactly pushovers either I am truly very sorry I didn't mean to make it seem like I abandoned you for no reason I just-" Before she could say anymore she was pulled into a tight hug, making her eyes widen as she stiffened even more.

"…You're back… You're finally back…" he whispered. Sayomi blinked and looked at him in shock as he started to laugh. "I can't believe it! Both of my best friends are back!" Sayomi stared at him silently for a few moments, then slowly wrapped her arms around him to return the hug.

Zack pulled away a minute later, a bright smile in his face. After nearly eleven years, he sees his best friends, both of them, in the flesh! Yeah, he had seen Cloud a year ago, but it was briefly and he would keep to himself. When he talked to Cloud a few minutes ago, he was overjoyed he was talking to him! And when Cloud had told him he found Sayomi, he was shocked, but happy. Yeah, he was also angry, but who wouldn't be when their friend left for seemingly no reason?

He broke out of his thoughts when Sayomi asked him a question. "I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked. She sighed and shook her head.

"I see you haven't changed… You're still an airhead…"

"Hey, I resent that!" Zack exclaimed. The girl shook her head.

"Why…?"

"Huh?" Zack raised a confused eyebrow.

"Why aren't you mad…? Why aren't you screaming or yelling at me?" She looked up. I practically abandoned you." Zack smiled and shook his head.

"Nah, it's fine. I figured you were up to something important. Though I do have to admit, I was angry when you didn't turn up for ten years…"

"Sorry…"

"Hey, no harm, no foul. Speaking of which…" Zack trailed off as he walked over to Cloud. He smirked and crossed his arms triumphantly. "Pay up, Spikey."

"Huh?" Sayomi asked in confusion.

"Oh… Right…" Cloud mumbled slightly as he took out his wallet and gave Cloud 5,000 munny. Zack grinned happily, putting his own wallet away.

"Awe yeah!" Zack exclaimed in joy. Sayomi stood there in complete confusion, her expression hidden by the darkness of her hood.

"Uh… What?" Zack and Cloud turned to her.

"Oh! Cloud and I made a bet a while after you left."

Sayomi crossed her arms. "And what was this bet about, Zack?" Her tone of voice caused Zack to shrink a bit.

"We bet about whether or not you would return. The winner would get 5,000 munny." As Zack spoke, Sayomi would nod again and again. Once he finished, she lowered her arms.

"So… let me get this straight…" She started walking toward them. "When I left, you both placed a bet of 5,000 munny on whether or not I would return to you guys…" The two nodded each time she put emphasis on something, then realized what she was getting at. Zack moved out of the way as she moved toward Cloud, who was starting to look worried. She pointed at him, her finger inches from his face. "And YOU bet that I WOULDN'T return?! Thanks a lot!" Cloud took a step back, raising his hands hesitantly as she started ratting him out. "Some friend YOU are! You know I was doing something important!"

Cloud looked to Zack for help, but he just shook his head. "You're on your own, buddy."

After Cloud was scolded by Sayomi for who knows how long, Zack convinced the two to stay the night. However, not all of it went as planned.

Sayomi quietly walked through the halls, making extra careful when she passed by Zack's room and Cloud's room. She eventually reached the front door and opened it, wincing when it screeched. She walked out of the building and got to the courtyard. Taking a deep breath, she summoned her Keyblade and started walking again, but she didn't get very far.

"So, are you leaving again?" Her eyes widened in shock and she froze. "Just like that?"

Sayomi lowered her head and stood straight. "Zack, I… I have to go." Zack stood behind her, his arms crossed and a frown on his face. He was not happy, and she could tell.

"So you just leave in the middle of the night?" he asked as he walked toward her. "I thought you were sorry you did that before. Was it all a lie?"

"Of course it wasn't!" She turned to him, her Keyblade gripped tightly in her hand. "But if I had gone in the day, you two wouldn't let me leave!"

"You're right. We wouldn't." Zack and Sayomi turned to see Cloud walking over to them, looking angry, which was a shock to the other two seeing as how Cloud is usually emotionless. "Do you honestly expect us to let you leave all by yourself again? The last time that happened, we didn't see you for eleven years." Sayomi looked down.

Zack put a hand on her shoulder. "Which is why we're coming with you." The girl looked up at them, the hood hiding her shock.

"W-what…?" she choked on her words. Zack smiled.

"You think we're going to let you go on a dangerous quest without us? Gimme a break, Sai! Besides, I've always wanted to go on an adventure," Zack said as his grin grew. Sayomi's eyes widened.

"B-but…"

"You're not getting rid of us as easily as before, Sai," Cloud said, using the same nickname Zack used. Unlike Zack, who used it all the time, he only used it when he was serious about something.

Zack walked up to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I guess you're stuck with us now. No use trying to fight!" She looked between the two boys and realized what he said was true. She sighed in defeat.

"Fine…"

"Good! But, there is one thing I've wanted to ask…" Cloud and Sayomi turned to Zack questionably.

"What?" she asked.

"Why do you have the hood on? We're your friends, so you don't have to hide." Zack realized he must have said something wrong, as she deflated completely, hanging her head. Cloud tugged him to the side rather harshly, which confused him even more. "Was it something I said?" he asked quietly to Cloud.

The boy shook his head. "For some reason, she doesn't want anyone to see what she looks like… Not even me." Zack seemed shocked about this, but Cloud ignored his look and continued, "I tried to get her to take it off, but she wouldn't." They both looked over to her.

"So something must have happened to her…" Zack muttered to himself. "And it must've been pretty bad to make her not want to talk to you about it. After all, you two were pretty close…"

"That was eleven years ago, Zack. That's in the past. Let that go."

"Just because it's in the past doesn't mean it's gone forever. I guess it seems she can attest to that." Zack sighed and put his hands on his hips. "She needs to relax… Ever since we've known her she's been tense, but this… this is just ridiculous."

"Come on, Zack," Cloud said as he walked back to Sayomi. Zack followed.

Sayomi watched as they came back. "Are you ready?" she asked once they stopped. When they nodded, she pointed her Keyblade up to the sky.

"What are you-?" Zack started to ask, but stopped when a beam shot up out of the keyblade and into the sky. His eyes widened when the beam grew, and engulfed all of them. When the light dimmed and disappeared, they were on their Gummi Ship. "Whoa! Cool!" Zack stated in shock, the widest smile ever on his face as he ran through the ship and touching things he shouldn't touch.

"Zack."

"Yeah?"

"Touch anything more and I will kill you." Zack gulped and sat in one of the seats in the cockpit as Sayomi sighed. "Alright, I'll let you handle the guns with Cloud, and I'll handle the piloting."

"Sweet!"

"Ra help us all…" Sayomi sighed, rubbing her temple as they shot off into space.

18 pages… Geez!

*Anyway, I never said anything about Zack's actual outfit, or what he looks like. Basically, he looks like what he was at the beginning of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. But he has the large Buster Sword he had at the end.

Why does Sayomi know Zack and Cloud? What happened to make her leave so suddenly? What was this "Deal" Hades had talked about? And why was Sayomi so scared about Zack dying, and not about Cloud?

And why does Sayomi keep her appearance hidden from everyone, including those closest to her? What had caused her to hide from everyone?