Ah, yes--the LONG overdue chapter 4.

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Harpygirl91: I'm glad you liked it!

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

Kingdom Hearts II/Sailor Moon

"Dance of the Sovereign Calamity"

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Chapter 4

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Hollow Bastion hadn't really changed, except it was looking a lot newer and a lot better, still being rebuilt. Cloud and Sora couldn't take their motorcycles passed the start of the marketplace because the twists and turns were too narrow for the machines. Sora still knew every single inch of this city. It hadn't changed enough for him to feel lost.

Cloud led the way and set the pace, Sora keeping up with him but a step or two behind, just in case they got attacked. After all, Sora knew magic and had to call the Keyblade with his heart. Both took a second to be prepared so Cloud was up front first to give Sora those needed seconds.

The zing Sora had felt before alerted him yet again. The Ultimate Weapon was in his hand as he wheeled around and struck, connecting with another, much different Keyblade. Riku had blocked his attack and he was glaring at Loz, who had been shoved back from Sora by Riku.

"Sephiroth said that the Master of the Keyblade was to be left alone. That goes for both Roxas and Sora as well as myself." Riku scolded icily. He lowered his Keyblade, taking Sora's with it, as he turned his attention back to his best friend. The darkness that had been in his features melted away instantly, giving Sora the smug smirk and the light the younger boy was used to. "Sorry about that. I tried to bring Yazoo who's not so aggressive but Sephiroth needed him and Kagaj was being a pain in the ass."

"It's fine." Sora dismissed, both Keyblades disappearing. "I'm doin' a delivery with Cloud, so I had better catch up."

"I'll come with you." Riku fell into stride beside his friend as they walked the path to Merlin's Hollow Bastion house. "You warn Kairi?" Sora nodded. "That's good. I got a bit more out of Sephiroth. He's declared a truce between Cloud, his people and the complete Remnants because of the nasty fact that he's found out."

"The Heartless are after him and he has a Nobody?" Sora offered, teasing just a bit. Riku's smirk grew a few hairs at the joke.

"Not quite. The Heartless are gethering their forces, same with the Nobodies. They're planning on storming the shining star that is Crystal Tokyo." Riku informed his friend in a low voice. "There's something far greater than the Silver Crystal in the Crystal Palace, far beneath the mapped Palace undergrounds. Whatever they're after, thatever is down there has Jenova uneasy and I mean, really uneasy. Sephiroth's been getting flashes of destruction and war whenever he touches her tank. And he keeps getting a dark room dimly lit and a soft pleading voice, begging him for help."

Sora stopped for a moment, racking his brain for something Auron had told him about back in the Underworld last time the boy had been there. What Riku was saying reminded him of that meeting but he couldn't quite…

"I have to use Cid's computer." Sora said suddenly. "I have to get to Merlin's house and use Cid's computer."

"Lead the way. I got your back." Riku didn't know what in the world was running through Sora's head but he wasn't going to let Sora handle this without him…and he was curious about what train of thought now had his friend running to the wizard's home with him keeping in stride.

Cloud had just reached the door and caught both boys before they crashed into the closed hardwood door. "I just knocked, and I hear a crash then an explosion. I think I startled somebody on the other side."

The door opened and Yuffie coughed, waving at the smoke that now filtered out of the opening. "I told you that using Materia in a magic/machine experiment was a bad idea without Merlin here to help!"

"Yuffie jumped when Cloud knocked and bumped something over?" Sora asked as Cid came to the door and wiping soot off his face.

"Yeah, get on in here already." Cid coughed, picking Yuffie by the back of her vest to move her out of their way. Of course, Yuffie protested quite vocally to this treatment but, like most of her other rants, Cid just ignored her, closing his eyes and lighting his cigar again.

"Cid, I need to use your computer for a minute." Sora got a nod since Cid would've been drowned out by the still shrieking kunoichi because Cid had yet to put her on her feet. Sora took his Restoration Committee membership card from his pack and put it into the card reader, taking Cid's out for the moment.

Yuffie hit a high note in her shriek that made Cid just flat out drop her on her stomach. "Put a cork in it already. You're gettin' annoyin'." He glanced at what Sora was working on. "What you lookin' at the plans for the Crystal palace for? Crystal Tokyo's never been attacked."

"Never?" Cloud repeated, taking a wrapped package out of his pack. He set it on Merlin's bed then came to stand at the chalk board.

"I know, it sounds hinky but it's true." Cid muttered. "There's like somethin' that scares the hell out of the Heartless and the Nobodies that's inside the city. An' now, the Fracks won't go anywhere near the walls anymore. They've been keepin' their distance. All of 'em have."

"Then there must be some truth in what Sephiroth said." Riku murmured to Sora as the blue-eyed boy brought up the bird's eye view of the city.

"They built the city in the shape of a star, calling on the powers of the 5 elements. One element at each point is channeled to the Palace and from there, a shield is erected but not even just the 5 elements would make the creatures we've fought keep away." Cloud said, remembering what Leon had told him about the city. "Is Leon over at Twilight Town, giving Seifer a hand?"

"Yeah, he'll be back as soon as he can." Cid answered. "An' with those Fracks, well…we're bettin' he's gonna be a while."

"That won't do us any good." Cloud muttered, looking at Sora and Riku. He wanted to help Leon and Sora, no doubt, wanted that, too. However, Cloud wasn't going to recklessly drag the boy or himself into battle. He's let the 15-year-old enjoy the peace before the storm. "Sora, you and Riku must need to catch up. Go and have some fun. I'll call you when we're ready to go."

"But…I don't have a phone. The last time you tried to give me one, Tifa went ballistic." Sora reminded. Cloud tossed him a black flip phone that was identical to his own. There was a Kingdom Keyblade and paopu fruit phone charms to declare it belonged to Sora. "Won't…won't Tifa kill you for this?"

"She can try." Cloud smirked. Sora and Riku exchanged a look before running out the door to have some time to themselves. As soon as they were outside, Sora pocketed the phone and sighed, putting his arms behind his head.

"So…uh, what do you want to do?" Sora asked, earning a shrug. The grate of movement on stone instantly broke the fresh silence. Loz was leaning up against the wall by the door to Merlin's house and looked to Riku for instructions.

Riku's hands flexed, like he was just waiting for a Shadow or a Dusk to make their entrance. However, it was a much different sensation shooting through Sora's nerves. Loz shifted, uneasy for some reason and that caught Riku's attention.

"Loz, check it out." Riku ordered. Loz looked at Riku a little worriedly. Riku's eyes narrowed and Loz swallowed thickly before flashing up to the top of the nearby stairs. "Sephiroth told me to send him in first should someone come poking around."

"You think Jenova showed him this?" Sora asked.

"Wh—oa!" Reno flew through the air and landed at their feet on his back. "Oof!"

"More like Shinra's been real active lately." Riku answered as they looked down at Reno.

"Oh, hi, boys. That Remnant with you, Kid?" The literal red haired male asked with a forced casual smile and a soft groan of pain.

Riku crossed his arms and smirked at Reno while Sora shook his head, his hands on his hips. "An' here I was worried we were going to get jumped by something dangerous."

"Oh, come now." Reno grunted, getting to his feet. "Is that any way to greet an old friend?"

The boys looked at each other unimpressed as Loz pushed Rude off the stairs to land on top of Reno. They looked at the parteners and shook their heads, moving on as Loz flashed down to their level again.

"Where you going, Little Brother?" Loz asked as the teenagers started to climb the stairs.

"Just keep yourself occupied with those two. I'll call if I need you." Riku dismissed, not even looking at the Remnant and his grin. The taller boy sighed heavily as they wandered towards the bailey. "It's pretty bad when I got to have an escort wherever I go. The Fracks aren't that much of a challenge and everything else is keeping their distance."

Stepping into the bailey, Sora stopped dead with his eyes on the shadows. He could see her there, standing in the darkness with a floor length gown and a black cloak over her head. He could feel her gaze connect with his and the feeling of overwhelming despair filled every nerve and cell of his brain. He dropped to his knees, only being caught by his bicep in Riku's grip.

"Whoa, Sora—you okay?" Riku asked, pulling his best bud to his feet. The younger male staggered to get his bearings before his head snapped up and he looked over at the shadow where she had been. "You see Heartless? Or was it the Nobodies?"

"Huh?" Sora looked at his friend then shook his head. "It's nothing. I saw…I saw nothing." Riku wasn't too sure that he was telling the truth. "Come on, let's see in there any stragglers around. I need to blow off steam on something."

"…I'm running out of time…"

Sora stopped and looked around. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Riku asked, looking at Sora a bit concerned. "Bud, are you sure that nothing's wrong?"

"What if it's a Nobody or a Heartless, someone high level and powerful?" Sora asked, looking at his best friend. "What if that is generating the force field? What if the Crystal Palace has tapped into Kingdom Hearts?"

Now that Riku thought about it, Sora had brought up a few good points. Sora had been a Heartless, becoming a Shadow and "Anti", and he had a Nobody, Roxas the 13th member of Organization 13, making him a Somebody. He was the first Keyblade Master. He had to be in tune with some force out there.

"That wouldn't bode well if that's all true." Riku muttered, running his hand through his hair. His cell phone went off at his waist. Sora recognized it instantly as the ringer Sephiroth had set for himself. Riku sighed with a groan. "Hang on, Sora. Let me see what Jenova's 'Chosen One' wants now." He flicked open his cell phone and put it to his ear. "Yeah, what do ya want? If it's to talk to Loz, he's got his own cell phone, y'know."

"…Sora…please…I'm running out of time…"

"Running…running out of time…?" Sora repeated, Riku turning his back in his conversation with Sephiroth. The brown haired boy caught the swish of a skirt out of the corner of his eye, heading towards the Restoration Site. Without thinking twice, Sora ran after that skirt that had whipped around a corner.

"Huh? Whoa! Hey—Sora, wait for me!" Riku called after him. "Sephiroth—I'll have to call you back!" He closed his phone and shoved it into his pocket to chase after Sora. "Yo! Sora—hold up!"

Sora leapt down from the rubbled wall and followed whoever he was chasing into the Restoration Site. He was half ignoring Riku, too intent on following this mystery girl who seemed to be just that much farther than him. Her foot disappeared over the top of the beginning to the entrance to the Postern, making Sora jump up and haul himself after her.

Behind him, Riku was growling curses under his breath as he hauled his own ass up onto the brick platform. Whatever had Sora running after it was going to meet the business end of Riku's Keyblade for making him chase after them like this And then he was going to pound Sora for following whatever it was in the first place.

Sora's feet hit the Postern platform, after the lighter footsteps had darted into the corridor that led to Ansem's Study. Sora was getting tired of this chase ans he was going to make whoever this was tell him why the hell she was making him chase her. But that meant he still had to follow her and so, Sora chased her into the corridor and through Ansem's Study, passed all the notes and information on the Heart.

Going through the Computer Lab to the Heartless Manufatory, Sora finally caught up to her and hit the brakes. He looked around, not seeing the usual scene. The chamber was now pale, pale pink and the floor was a dull shade of pink. In the center of this chamber was a pillar of crystal with 2 shorter branches flanking it. There was a being of light pinned to the crystal pilar, its wrists on the other two. More crystal grew up these larger hunks and the current was literally draining this being.

Riku half slammed into Sora and then looked at what he was seeing. His jaw dropped as he came stand by his friend.

"Oh my God…" Riku breathed. "Where are we?"

The being's hands curled slightly and a shadow weakly creot forward from the base, towards the two boys. The strain was evident as a form struggled to rise from the lone darkness. A cat's body, 4 small bat like wings and 2 long tails took solid formas the being's went slack. The creature looked up at its creature and let out a sorrowful meow. Something fell from the being's neck and tinked on the floor.

"…Please…I'm running out of time…"

The scene dissolved but the creature and what it was now how holding, did not. It turned and padded over to Sora and Riku, making the brunette kneel. Sora held out his hand and the creature put whatever it had been carrying in his palm. He stood and looked at what he had been given. It was merely a spark of light and it divided itself into two, forming 2 new Keychains. One Keychain was a rose and the other was a star. Sora looked at Riku then back at his hand.

"She's running out of time." Sora repeated in a soft voice. "She's calling to us for help. We've got to help her."

"We don't know where she is, or what power she holds." Riku told his friend, his fingers hovering over the two Keychains. "But you're right. She's weakening. Something tells me that this Dream Girl of yours is the real power behind the shields at Crystal Tokyo."

"You shouldn't hang up on me, Little Brother." Sephiroth scolded, making Sora quickly pocket the Keychains and both teens to turn to face the "Chosen One". Cloud was with him…as were Loz, Yazoo and Kadaj at their backs. The creature slunk between the boys and sat between them and the one winged angel and the blond swordsman. "Now, what do we have here?"

"Show me those Keychains you're hiding, Sora." Cloud instructed. Sora took his hand out of his pocket and uncurled his fingers, showing them to the man who took him in. "So, these are what Jenova had shown you, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth knelt and lowered his arm, letting the creature run up his arm and sit on his shoulder. It nuzzled his cheek, his silver hair spilling aover it as it moved. "And this must be the messenger, the one who would take us to the one who had seen the true Calamity."

"The Calamity even Jenova fars above all others." Cloud exchanged a look with Sephiroth. It was never a good thing when Jenova was scared of it.

"The Sovereign Calamity?!" Riku demanded, looking at Sephiroth. "That is nothing to joke about! You can't even be serious! You said that it was only a story!"

"What I said was the Sovereign Calamity was a legend." Sephiroth corrected. "And we're not joking."

"What's the 'Sovereign Calamity'?" Sora asked confused.

"Remember when Red XIII told you kids about the Disaster all other Disasters fear?" Cloud inquired, getting a nod. "That's the Sovereign Calamity. According to the legend, it can brong down all the stars in the sky and bring the dead forth in an undefeatable army."

"And there was only one force that could stop it." Sora nodded, remembering the story Red XIII had told to Denzel and Marlene one night in Sora's room. "But why would it come now, of all times?"

"That being we saw, that being of light." Riku muttered to Sora. "Maybe that's the force that's been keeping the Sovereign Calamity at bay."

Cloud crossed his arms, his features locked in a stern look. "Enough of the secrets. Tell me everything, Sora. Or I'll give you back to Tifa and tell her to work you to the bone."

Spill his guts to Cloud and sound like a psychopath or be Tifa's dish jockey at the tavern…hmmm, tough choice.

Hopefully, Sora--unlike Naruto--has LEARNED a thing or two since he was a child...okay, Naruto has grown up a LITTLE but I'm STILL siding with Sora on this one.

Read and Review plz and I'll toss in a special surprise in an upcoming chapter!