Chapter Six: Burning Sands

"What news, Vincent? Any sight of a world to land on yet?" I asked.

"No, not yet, I'm afraid." He replied. "There's still nothing new. Only the emptiness of space that has been following ever since we left Halloween Town. It seems endless. And I couldn't be more tired than I am. I've been piloting this ship for a week now, and there's still no sight of anything new."

"Oh, man!" I whined. "I can't believe it! I'm tired of spending every stupid minute inside this Gummi ship! I want fresh air! I wanna run like crazy! Like if it where enough movement for me to go from here to my room... Come on, I want to do something new!"

"Well, I cannot do anything about it." Vincent replied. "I don't mean to sound rude, but, if you feel so bored, why don't you go with Wilheim, and let him drink from you?"

"That sounded rude, Vincent, whether you like it or not." I grumbled. "I should've never told you what it felt to have your blood sucked by a vampire." I paused for a second, and then added: "Besides, he doesn't drink from me anymore. Only from Morrigan... Hey! I've got an idea! Why don't you let me take over?"

"Can I trust that you won't lead us into the arms of death, Felicia?"

"Yeah, yeah, you've taught me all I need to know. I've piloted it before, remember?"

"Alright. If there's anything you need, just call me. But don't hesitate to do so: remember that our lives are at stake here."

"You sound so dramatic." I giggled. "Come on, go get some sleep. That way, we'll both have what we need: you'll get some rest, and I'll get to mess with my mind a bit."

"Okay." He said, got up from his seat, and headed to his room.

Finally! For the past three days, I had done nothing but to read Wilheim's books. Not that I don't like to read, but hey, I needed to start moving... at least my hands, that is. I just can't keep still. And even though I wasn't running a marathon, this was much less boring than just sitting in my butt, and doing nothing. Sure, it was nice to talk to my friends. But most of them had sank in the blackness of space, and now, they hardly ever said a word. I think that the ones who were unaffected by the isolation of the universe were Ryoga, Sakura, and I. Even so, the other guys' negative energy eventually got to us. What was with them, anyway? Couldn't just a few of us be positive about the trip?

And, speaking about Ryoga and Sakura, both of them suddenly came into the cockpit, and sat next to me.

"Well, I see that you're having some fun, aren't you?" Sakura said, with a grin. "At least someone is doing something that they like to do."

"What makes you think that I'm crazy about doing this?" I asked. "It's the same thing as driving a car. If I could just fly this baby... like... like an X – Wing from Star Wars... or like an Arwing, from Star Fox... But no. I have to drive this van smoothly." I sighed, and crossed my arms. "See? I don't even need to touch the damn thing. I only have to keep it on a steady course."

"If you're so bored with this, why don't you read something?" Ryoga suggested.

"Because I've read all of Wilheim's books, and I'm sick and tired of staring at letters all day long. I'm no philosopher, I'm afraid. Besides, this is all that there is to do."

"So what you want to do is fight some bad guys?" Sakura asked.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. Well... I was on the verge of losing my mind. "I need action! We haven't encountered a single enemy ship since we left Halloween Town. God, am I desperate."

"I can tell..." Ryoga said. He nailed his eyes in the blackness of our never – ending road, and let out a little sigh. "Oh well... At least space isn't as bad as a freeway. It's much more beautiful."

"You're right with that..." I murmured. "This isn't all boring. It's just that this is the most fun thing to do at the time. Besides, Vincent seemed very tired..."

Suddenly, I was muted. There was something that seemed to be heading our way. At first glance, it looked like a swarm of wasps. But they were very far away. Which meant that those things could only be ships... And from one of them, a strange, greenish ray came. It past right in front of us, and our own ship trembled at the sight of it.

"Wow!" Ryoga exclaimed. "What was that?"

"A shot! We're being attacked!" Sakura yelled.

I can't explain what came over me at that moment. I mean, this was no videogame. If our ship went down, all of us would die in an explosion of fire and ashes. We would be just a bunch of floating dead bodies; a cold mass waiting to fly into the sight of another ship, like a rocky asteroid, or something like that... It wasn't a very cheerful thought. A clinically sane person would start to scream in horror, and would turn the ship around, and would try to flee from those foes. But at that moment... I wasn't exactly sane.

"Vincent!" I screamed. "Tell the rest of the guys to hang on! We're gonna go for a little ride!"

"What are you doing!" Ryoga shrieked. "We can still run away from them! Turn the ship around! Are you out of your mind!"

"We can take them." I said. "Besides, they're lighter than us. They'll catch up with us if we turn tail and flee." I added, thought this wasn't exactly true, for the turbines on our ship were more powerful than the ones that they had.

Luckily, it turned out that I was a very good pilot. A rain of lasers began to fall on us. Ryoga and Sakura tried to scream, but their yells were caught in their throats as they felt how I pulled up to avoid the shots. The green, deadly glows didn't even scrape the outer casket. The visor of our ship ceased to see the dark emptiness of space, and noticed many ships that flew above us. And that is when I began to shoot them down like a madwoman. One by one they burst into tiny pieces, and disappeared from our sight. Still, they wouldn't stoop shooting at us. I barrel – rolled, and spun in the air like you wouldn't believe it. Sakura and Ryoga couldn't help but to keep on trying to scream in horror as the shots nearly hit us. But I laughed and cheered to myself with every new ship that I destroyed.

It wasn't long before Vincent stormed into the cockpit, and screamed in a maddened voice:

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Kicking some butts! Is that so hard to see?" I replied, without even turning to him.

I dove into what would be the bottom of space, and then pulled back up, making Vincent to fall on his back and our enemies to lose sight of us. With a crazy maneuver, I flew over them, and ended up right behind them. Most of them tried to do the same thing... But they weren't quick enough to escape me. Without hesitation, I started to fire all of our arsenal at them, and blew most of them into nothingness. However, there were a few that actually managed to get around me. The hunter became the hunted... But they wouldn't get me. I saw their rays trying to hit us by the side of the visor, as I turned from left to right, and from right to left. They didn't hit us. Not even once. Nevertheless, they were still behind us, and I couldn't shoot them, unless we had some sort of gun installed in our rear, which I doubted very much. I then had an idea. I used the whole power of the turbines to outrun them... They were stupid enough to try to follow us. And so, they fell into my trap, as I shut down all the power for an instant... and the idiots passed us. Of course that this turned out to be a kamikaze maneuver, for our enemies nearly crashed with us. We all heard the roar of their turbines as they flew past us. And when they were within my sight range once again, I shot them all down... And space was ours again.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, triumphantly, and jumped up from my seat. "Take that, you worthless wimps! You can't beat the almighty Felicia!"

"Are you done!" Vincent interrupted. I turned to look at him, and stopped smiling. He was pissed off. Even more pissed than when he and Wilheim had that fight... I gulped and waited for him to destroy me with his scolds. "Felicia, what the heck were you thinking about! You could've killed us all! And all because of an idiotic game of yours! Remember that in the void that we travel there is no life!"

"I know, I know..." I murmured in a tiny voice. I felt how my stomach grew smaller as Ryoga and Sakura looked at me with a both angry and puzzled expression, and as Morrigan and Wilheim came into the room. "Listen... I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"I'll make sure of that." Vincent said, and calmed down. "From now on, I'll be the one piloting the ship. No one else will as much as touch the controls without my consent. Is that clear?"

I nodded my head, and said nothing. I couldn't look at any of them. Gosh, I was so stupid! And to think that all of this little spectacle had been caused by a moment of pure boredom. I sighed, and tried to walk out of the cockpit, but stopped when I heard Morrigan say:

"What is that?"

They all got together and peered into space. They kept silent for a few moments, and finally, Vincent muttered:

"I'm not sure. I can't tell..." he turned to me, and said: "Felicia, you have the sharpest eyes. What can you see?"

I ran by their side, and squinted hard...

It was a planet. Finally, a place to land! For what I could see, it looked like there was a small town surrounding a great, majestic palace. Its white towers ended in golden peaks, and its wooden doors were shut, and let no one pass. There were lots of tiny houses, most of them built with humble, white bricks, and with curtains instead of doors. Many stores were at the foot of the buildings... A huge marketplace, it seemed to be. But I couldn't tell for sure... Either way, I was certain that that was a planet, and that the time to land the ship had come.

"It's another world!" I exclaimed. "We've come to another world."

"That's amazing..." Morrigan said. "Well, at least our Bastet's stupidity lead us into a new place." She added, much to my discontent... (Oh, Bastet means 'werecat', by the way). "Yes, indeed. It was a good thing that you decided to let your adventurous spirit control your body for that instant."

"Yes, it was a fortune." Wilheim said. "It seems to me that luck is on our side today. Let us use this to our advantage. Quick, Vincent. Lose no more time, and land the ship. The time has come to look for those that await us. Let us only hope that our fortune will not vanish, like the stars that dwell around us now. The sickening monotony of the black cosmos has finally come to an end! At least for now..."

Vincent lost no time and grasped the ship's controls. He then started to descend into the planet... And as we got nearer, and nearer, a thought ran through my mind.

"Hey, there wasn't a sun in the space when we left Halloween Town, was there?"

"Not that I remember." Vincent replied. "I believe that the sun is an illusion of the worlds. Yet, it is real to us from those worlds, for its rays warmed us. And then, when we leave the planets and ride with the death winds of space, they vanish. Why do you ask?"

"Because, if what you say is true, then we don't know if it's daytime or nighttime in this world." I said.

"So?"

"So, we have a vampire with us, you genius!"

"I had forgotten about it!" Wilheim exclaimed. "If indeed there is a sun shining in the sky, I will be burnt to a cinder, and my ashes will travel along with the undying wind. I will become no more than a bitter memory... Thank God that you thought of this, my good Felicia!" He quickly left us, and locked himself in his room. "Tell me if it is safe for me to come out!"

"Damn..." Ryoga muttered. "Just when we need to be together."

"He's very strong... I hate to go on without him." Sakura said. "Shouldn't we wait for night to come, in case that it's daytime down there?"

"We could." Said Vincent. "But I believe that it will be best if we begin our search. If you are so concerned about him, then stay with him. I'm sure that he'll appreciate that."

"Don't bother." Morrigan intervened. "I'll stay with him, and keep him company. The warm rays of the lethal sun won't touch his skin as long as I'm here to look after him."

"Yeah, right." I said. "All you want to do is to..."

"Stop it." Vincent interrupted. He turned to Morrigan, and asked: "May we trust that you won't try to tempt him?"

"You all know me so little." She said. I noticed some resentment on her voice... "Unlike you, dark man, I care for some people. Not one of you has tried to speak to me, save for him. He is a child of darkness, like me. You cannot understand our somber nature, pitiful mortals." She turned her back to us, and went into the dark room, and joined Wilheim.

"Yeah, right. She only likes him because she feels good when..." Sakura started, but luckily, Ryoga interrupted. I didn't want to get involved in that statement as well...

"Okay, quit it." He said. The essence of the new world engulfed us, and the blackness of space turned into a bright, blue sky, with a yellow sun shining brightly on the land, heating it with every second that passed. "Okay, it's daytime." Ryoga said. "I guess that we'll just have to leave without them."

"Yes, there's no choice." Vincent added. "Yet, I assume that they don't know that Gummi ships become small once they have landed. I'll have to look for someplace that is hidden in the shadows, if we want him to survive."

"What if there isn't such place?" I asked.

"Then we'll have no choice but to keep on flying until the day dies..." he stopped speaking for a second, and then said, with a weird sparkle in his eyes: "There's the place that we're looking for. An old, abandoned storage room... The perfect place to leave these two... 'children of darkness' alone."

"How do you know that you can land in there?" asked Ryoga.

"You'll see. These ships are living, magical entities. Some places on the worlds release magic of their own. Once these two mysterious waves meet, the ship will shrink."

"And how do you know all of this?" Sakura asked.

"Halloween Town is not where I woke up. There are many things that you yet don't know about me."

"The dry heat of this wretched world is bound to finish me, even if the rays of the sun cannot pierce the old wood and the crumbling bricks that surround us." Wilheim growled. "Yet, I suppose that to withstand this infernal heat is better than to burn in the light of this unearthly star. I can only hope that the merciful night will smote the brightness of the day soon."

"Well, until that happens, wait for us here, and don't move." Ryoga said to our friend, and to Morrigan.

"We aren't stupid." The succubus replied. "We will only open the door when you call our names. Now go, and see if you can find anything of interest."

" 'Sí, su alteza serenísima'." I said, with a sarcastic voice, and even vowed. "Come on, guys. Let's get out of here. Let's see what kind of world I got us to... I hope that my suicidal act was worth the trip."

With that being said, Vincent, Ryoga, Sakura, and I went out of the storage room and left Wilheim and Morrigan alone. Boy, was I getting sick of her! I can't understand how Wilheim, a gentleman and a noble warrior, could get along with her. I'm positive that she only liked him because of the fact that he pleased her when he sucked her blood... but nothing more. Well... who knows? Maybe I was wrong, and maybe Morrigan did care for him. After all, she had a point: they two where the only immortal creatures among us. Even so, Wilheim acted more like a teenager than an old vampire...

Well, I couldn't think much more about that at the moment. The goddam heat was about to melt all of us like if we were wax figures. And no wonder. As I felt the hot sand on the soils of my feet, I realized that we were standing in the middle of a city that had been built on the desert itself! There were a few palm trees growing here and there, but the shadows that they cast were already sheltering some fellows... All of them seemed to be human.

The streets were all but quiet. I guess that, to Wilheim's misfortune, the day was just starting. Like I had guessed from the ship, there was a marketplace, and a busy one at that. There were hundreds of costumers buying (and some stealing) all sorts of stuff: beautiful diamonds and pearls, fancy clothes, and fishes, apples, and watermelons. One could listen to the many screams of the costumers and of the salesmen... Shops and people. That's all that we could see. I can guess that my friends didn't feel much different than me... And I felt that I was standing still in a foreign anthill.

"Okay..." I murmured. "OK. Where do we start looking for? But most importantly, what are we looking for?"

"Our friends." Ryoga replied. "You remember, don't you? I want to know where Akane is."

"And I want to find Ryu." Sakura added.

"If we want put an end to this quickly, we should split up." Vincent suggested. "Me and Sakura will go and check out the eastern part of this town. You two search on the western part of the town. If you see someone that may look like the ones we're searching for, don't you dare lose sight of him or her. Got it?"

"We won't let that happen, Vincent, so just be cool about it, deal?" I said, with a smile. "OK, Ryoga. Let's get moving. I can tell you something... I'm not gonna last very long with this dreadful heat and this fur coat on me."

And with that being said, Sakura and Vincent walked away from us, and quickly disappeared among the crowd. Ryoga and I stood still for a moment, and then dove in with the rest of the townsfolk. You wouldn't believe how hard it was for him and me to even take three steps. The place was very crowded, and, even though we asked the people to let us pass, they wouldn't even step aside. Well, I can understand that most of them didn't have anywhere to move... We kept on walking until, at long last, the streets were somewhat emptied.

"Thank God!" I exclaimed. "I really needed a breather."

"So did I." Said Ryoga.

We noticed that the part of the market in which we stood was the... jewelry section. There were many people in it... but it wasn't the sea of persons that we had encountered some moments earlier. I assumed that there weren't many people there because not many of them were into fancy pearls and emeralds. Be that as it may, Ryoga and I walked once again, and carefully studied our surroundings. This part of the town was no different than the other, except maybe for some pots that were placed behind some of the counters, and for the Persian rugs that hung out of the windows.

"Hey, Felicia... are you looking for someone?" Ryoga suddenly asked.

"You might say that. I'm looking for a werewolf. His name is Jon Talbain."

"A werewolf? You?"

"Yeah. It may sound strange, but there's a reason to it. See, not long ago, I was fighting a battle against some strange – looking robots... I don't know what they wanted with me, but their strength was far greater than mine. I took down one or two out of five... When they trapped me, and were getting ready to kill me, he pounced on them, and saved my life..." I stopped speaking for a moment, as I wiped the sweat off my forehead. "I never got a chance to thank him. That's why I'm looking for him."

"Oh..." Ryoga muttered. "So that's... it?"

"Yeah. I never had many friends. The people get scared at me when they see me... I mean, look at the townsfolk. They can't stop staring at me. But it's not as if they were staring at some Nicole Kidman, or some Elizabeth Hurley... Their eyes are full of fright. And I've known those eyes ever since I was a little girl."

The boy sighed along with me, and weakly nodded his head. He understood, and he knew that I was right. I couldn't stand it. If I as much as took a step to one of the stores, the owner of it would raise his arms in alarm. What harm could I cause?

"If it means any comfort to you... I don't think that you're a monster." Ryoga said. "In fact... I think that you're very pretty. And believe me: Wilheim agrees with me."

"Really?" I giggled. "That's very sweet of you! Well, thank you. It does comfort me, I must say..."

"And just for the record, I know what it's like when people stare at you as if you were some kind of freak."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh... did I say that out loud?" he asked in a tiny voice. His face turned white, and his mouth turned into a shameful smile. "Oh... never mind..."

"Come on, tell me. I promise that I won't laugh." I insisted, as we finally found a shadowed, empty alley. There was not a single soul in it.

"Well..." he whispered. I could clearly notice that this was a huge secret, for he didn't want even the wind to hear about it. "It's just that..." he began to say, but let out a shriek as he felt a cold splash of water on his back.

I quickly turned my head up, and saw a little kid that was staring at us with an empty bucket. His face reflected shame, and a bit of sadness.

"Oh, no..." he muttered, to himself. "I... I slipped, and now the water is gone... Oh, what will my mother say?" he then ran out of my sight.

"Bummer..." I said. "Poor kid... Well, at least he cooled... hey!" I screamed, as I saw that Ryoga wasn't standing in front of me.

How could he have disappeared? I don't mean to sound cocky, but I'm a werecat. If he would've taken even a single step, I would've heard him. Had he vanished into thin air? The answer was very simple. He was still standing in front of me... For I heard a little squeal and looked at the ground. All of Ryoga's clothes were on the sand, and coming out of his yellow shirt, was a little black pig, which wore the boy's bandanna.

"What the...?" I began. "Where in the...? How...? Okay, okay, time out..." I took a deep breath, and knelt down. I saw the little pig's brown eyes, and stared hard at them. Even though Ryoga had changed, the sparkle in his irises wasn't different. I couldn't help but to smile and let out a chuckle, as he looked at me with a concerned expression. "So it is you!" I exclaimed. "You're so cute, Ryoga!"

He squealed again, and I noticed a bit of anger and much relief in his... voice.

"Don't be mad, young man." I giggled. "I see... so this is what you were talking about. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone... Does somebody else know this?"

The little pig's eyes were filled with rage, and he nodded his head.

"Take it easy! It seems that the one who knows about this has something to do with it... right?"

Again he nodded, this time more rapidly than before.

"Is it Wilheim?"

Ryoga shook his head, and the anger in his glance was gone.

"Oh... But he knows, right?" I asked, and he nodded yet again. "I've heard of this before... I could guess that this has something to do with the Jusenkyo cursed ponds... Am I right? After all, you changed when you were splashed by that cold water. I know about those ponds. A pain in the neck, I suppose."

He squealed and nodded once more.

"Oh, well... I guess I'd better carry you around. We've gotta find some hot water soon, before one of these merchants wants to turn you into pork chops. Come on." I said, and stretched my arms out. Without hesitation, he climbed into them, and stood still as I picked up his clothes and his steel umbrella (man, was that thing heavy). Once there was nothing left on the ground, we went out of the alley, and continued our search.

I kept on walking, with Ryoga in my arms, without stopping. We both turned to see what was on our right and on our left side. But there was no sign of anybody that so much as resembled the appearance of the people that we were looking for. All of the guys had told me about the ones they wanted to find so many times that I knew their descriptions by heart. Even so, there was surely no one there. But, just to make sure, I discretely raised Ryoga to my face, and whispered in his ear:

"If you see or hear about someone that you know, just tap my arm, okay?"

The little black pig nodded and squealed what appeared to be a 'yes'...

As I went from one street to another, I noticed that these became more and more empty. I figured that it was because the jewel's prices of the merchants just went up and up... Until at long last, the marketplace disappeared from our sight. We found ourselves in an empty street, in what appeared to be the poor part of the town. The windows of the many white houses were but clothes that danced with the air's flow, and the doors were... not there at all. We could see what was inside of the houses. Most of them had the same things, that is, a couple of rugs, a wooden table, and nothing more. Very few of them had a bed, and a terribly uncomfortable one, it seemed to me.

"God... This is awful." I murmured. "And to think that many of these people live and die every day, without us even caring about it."

Ryoga nodded his head, and said nothing (of course).

I tried to go through this street as quickly as I could, but suddenly, I froze...

Voices. I could hear voices coming from a dark alley that was on my left. I carefully walked to it, and saw three figures standing side by side. I hid my body behind the wall, and only listened, without taking my eyes off them...

One of them was a dark, sinister man who wore a black tunic and cape over his skinny body, and carried a golden staff with the shape of a deadly snake. He had a black turban with a red feather on his head, a stern expression on his face, and a pointy, black beard. The other one was a woman who also wore a black tunic, and also held a staff, only that hers was dark, and had a green ball on its end. Her evil, greenish face was very skinny. She had menacing, yellow eyes, and... two dragon – like horns coming out of her head... And the third one was a young boy, who wore blue pants and a yellow shirt. He was the only one that didn't quite fit in the picture, for he didn't look like he was a bad guy. He had long, silvery hair, and a strong body. His gaze was blue and beautiful, but there was something strange in it... It looked fierce and unyielding to evil, but at the same time, cold and without emotions...

"Tell me, Jaffar..." said the woman. "What have the Heartless found? Any sign of the Keyhole yet?"

"No, not yet." The man said, in a grave voice.

"And what about the princess Jasmine? Has she been caught? Or is she still wandering these very streets as we talk?"

"I'm afraid that our servants have not been able to get a hold of her." He replied. "She is much more difficult to find than we thought."

"Well, I trust that you will resolve this problem soon enough." The woman said, and her voice turned into a mock. "For I cannot believe that one little girl can become so much trouble. Remember, Jaffar, that it is vital for our plan that all the seven princesses of heart are together when the final preparations begin. We must also guard the Keyhole as well, so that it will not be sealed."

"Your worries are unfounded." Jaffar answered, with a somber chuckle. "We will find princess Jasmine soon enough. And the Keyhole as well. If the Heartless are unable to find it in time, the little trinket that I will have tonight will be able to answer all of our questions in just a few seconds."

"So, will you send the boy tonight to find it?"

"Of course."

"Whatever..." intervened the boy. "I wanna know what the hell it is that you're talking about. My friend is still lost, isn't she? I want to find her right away. Besides, I want to go and talk to Sora about..."

"My dear Riku..." interrupted the dark woman. "Have you forgotten? Sora has found new friends now. He doesn't care about you anymore. To him, you are now just another leaf that has flown into nothingness. He forgot about you, and he now has new friends. You, and your friend Kairi, are a mere, vain memory in his mind now."

The boy kept silent for a few moments. During that time, I turned to Ryoga, and whispered in his ear:

"These people are mean. It seems to me that they're trying to trick that boy. Man, if we could just talk to him... And I definitely don't like the sound of the Heartless, or the fact that these guys are trying to find a princess... What in the world are they up to?"

"But you have not forgotten about your friend Kairi, haven't you?" the woman said. "She awaits you in an unknown world, embraced by darkness. But we won't know where she is, until we find all of the princesses. Only when that is done, the way that will lead to the merry encounter of you and your friend will be opened. You have only to be patient, my dear Riku... Just be patient."

"How do I know that you're telling the truth, Maleficent?" the boy asked. "What guarantee do I have that you're not lying?"

"I can offer you nothing, except the certainty that I only wish for your happiness." She replied, and gently caressed his cheek with her evil hand. "You are precious to me. Believe me, Riku... We will find Kairi."

"Okay..." Riku murmured. His eyes shone with a strange light for an instant, and so he asked: "What about Sora? I don't want him to forget about me. I know that it isn't his fault... I know that it isn't his choice. Is there something that we can do?"

"Why, maybe there is." Intervened Jaffar. "You see, your friend is with very bad company. This girl... this Ukyo is misleading the boy, for she is a witch, and has cast a powerful spell on him."

As soon as he heard this last name, Ryoga quickly tapped my arm with his leg, and squealed in a low voice. I dropped my jaw, but I was unable say anything... Until at last, I looked at my friend, and murmured:

"Ukyo is Wilheim's girlfriend, right?"

Ryoga nodded frantically, and then looked at these three characters once more.

"Now I know that they're truly evil... Let's keep quiet, Ryoga. Maybe they'll reveal to us where to find her."

"As for the other ones, they are also her friends. The curse that she has put on your friend grows stronger with their presence." Jaffar continued. "It is all because of her, and because of the Keyblade. As long as he wields it, he will be under a veil of darkness. If you want to get your friend back... you will have to get rid of the girl, and her friends, and you will have to claim the Keyblade. The spell of the weapon makes him think that he is the rightful master of it. But in your hands, things will be different."

"What do you mean?" Riku asked.

"You have a stronger heart than him." The evil man explained. "If you take it, its curse will have no effect on you, and you will be very powerful... Maybe even powerful enough to find your friend."

The boy nodded his head, and smiled weakly. I could see that he wasn't buying all of Jaffar's story, and that very encouraging. As for Maleficent, she seemed both amused and surprised by the dark man's words. She obviously never had the intention of coming up with a scheme as ridiculous as that one... But now that Jaffar had spoken, there was no turning back.

"As for now, you must help us." She said to Riku. "If you find the princess, I promise you that I'll do whatever I can to find Kairi."

"You really mean that?" Riku asked, and his eyes glittered with happiness and hope.

"Of course I do." The woman answered, with the most macabre and terrifying smile I had ever had the 'pleasure' to see.

"I think we've heard enough." I whispered to Ryoga. "Let's get out of here... Besides, we've gotta find some hot water to turn you back to normal..." I made a small pause, and then muttered to myself: "Boy, is Wilheim going to be pissed with these news..."

It didn't take us long to find a bucket of hot water. All we had to do was to borrow one from a sluggish merchant. The sun was so hot that even the water had lost all of its cool by that time. We found another empty alley, and so I poured the water on Ryoga's body, and quickly turned my back to him while he got dressed. After all, he would've killed me if I would've seen him naked...

We kept on wandering through the town, and as the day went by, the streets got more and more empty. Even then, to find Vincent and Sakura had become a near impossible task. Also, we were trying to look for Ukyo... Since they had talked about her, I had the strong feeling that she was somewhere near. But we never saw her or any of her friends...

When we finally found Vincent and Sakura, the sun was falling behind the enormous palace. I was a little relieved, for we would soon be able to count with Wilheim and Morrigan's strength...

"Any luck?" Sakura asked us.

"Not much." Ryoga replied. "How about you, guys? Did you find anything?"

"Nothing, save for a blasted headache under the merciless rays of the sun..." Vincent replied. "Thank God that the night is about to smother the day. I couldn't have stood that heat for a moment longer..."

"Boys, we've got news." I said. "Ryoga and I heard a man, a woman, and a boy talking about something that concerned us..."

"Hold on, Felicia." Ryoga interrupted. "I suggest that we go to where we left Wilheim and Morrigan. These news are very important for all of us... Though, I think that it would be best if..."

"Even for Wilheim and Morrigan?" Vincent intervened, with a weak chuckle. "Even for the 'children of the night'?"

"Well, I don't know about her, but they're important especially for Wilheim." I answered. Their faces were filled with concern, and so I added: "Come on, guys, let's go. We've got to find them quickly... 'Cause I think that we completely lost our way with the marketplace, and all..." I stopped talking for an instant, and remember that Jaffar had said something about sending someone to do something that very night... And so, I said, with a firm voice: "And we can't waste a single minute."

'Yes, your royal highness.'