Hey there people. Sorry I'm just posting this now; I was hoping to get it posted before 2012, but alas, I had several complications. But might I just say that this chapter is EPIC? It'll be worth the few extra days of waiting. And it is most certainly worthy of your reviews (which I love, thank you very much Naivette, SSBTMM, Crystal4458, and Ravlia).

Oh, and on another note, I've recently posted some oneshots. So if you're bored or you like my writing style, check those out.

But enough procrastinating. Here's the new chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Ten: Daddy Dearest

We were all quiet as we made our way to the beach. About halfway through the walk, Riku started sensing something snapped within me and started gently prodding me to figure out what was wrong. But I wouldn't tell him about the fury I felt towards my mother. I wouldn't even admit it to myself right now. Instead, I locked my jaw and repeatedly told Riku that I was going to find my dad today. And nothing was going to get in my way.

That was enough to get him quiet for a while. John was quiet too; he was more sensitive than Riku was to the situation. But then again, he knew more than Riku did. He knew all along that we were there that day and witnessed my father's "death". And he lived with it for years. Now I would have to do the same.

No wonder people didn't try talking to me about my Dad. They thought I was traumatized by that day! They knew I was with him right before he disappeared off the face of the world. But in reality, I didn't even know that. Isabella took that knowledge away from me, and as soon as he was gone, she got inside my head. She took away everything that was ever precious to me. Everything! She ruined me!

I hated her.

"We're here," John said. Looking ahead instead of at my feet in the sand, I saw the seawall that ran into the ocean and on the same. It was sort of like a bridge that everyone could walk on, if they were very careful and didn't slip up. It was just naturally there and a good cutoff point for the beach; the other side was just empty. Well, that was what I assumed anyway. It wasn't like I ever actually went over to look. Why would it matter?

"Okay," I responded, stopping and looking around the area. This was where we always sat, I thought, glancing down at the ground. This was where my Dad saved John and I from the Heartless. And this was where he "died". Dad, where are you?

"I'm not seeing any obvious places to dig up," Riku stated as he stood beside me.

"Me neither," John said. "I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to dig anything up. If the next clue was hidden under the sand, somebody could easily stumble upon it."

"Then what do you suggest?" I asked. There was nothing here but that wall. Wait, the wall. I looked over at it and approached it, feeling around its holes in case something was slipped in the wall.

"Steph? What're you doing?" Riku inquired as he and John both approached me in confusion.

"The only thing here other than sand is the wall. So what if he hid something around the rocks?"

"Or how about behind?"

"Probably not," John disagreed, going against Riku's question. "Those rocks can't be separated."

"Maybe not by you," Riku said as he flexed his muscles. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw him lift his arm and flex his biceps innocently, though the smirk he then shot my direction was one with purpose.

"Show off," I laughed, smiling despite the circumstances. But then I realized that was the point of him flexing his muscles; it was to make me smile again, since I was still on the verge of tears due to the memory I recalled earlier. Just thinking about it made me want to shudder, but I wouldn't do it right now. I had to focus on finding my Dad, though I was a little scared of what I would find. He was okay, right? We weren't walking into a trap? If we were, John should have left so that he wouldn't get hurt. I didn't want him in pain.

Riku stopped flexing his muscles as he stepped up next to me. Suddenly, he wasn't the goofball that he was a minute ago. "Something smells fishy," he said lowly as I gazed at him in question.

"Well, we are by an ocean," I said lightly. "So of course it's going to smell like fish."

"Ha-ha," Riku said sarcastically. "But seriously…" He looked over his shoulder and grunted at what he saw.

"What?" I asked, eyes widening a little as his narrowed. Turning around, I saw the same thing that he saw. "Heartless?" They hadn't appeared on this beach for years!

My boyfriend summoned his Keyblade and got into his stance, motioning with his free hand for me to stay close. "You know you're onto something whenever the Heartless appear."

"Really, well if that's the case…" I said lowly, summoning my sword instead of my bow and arrow. "Then let's finish this quick and move on!" I charged forward before he could stop me, though he did holler my name in protest. It didn't matter. I needed my Dad. I needed to see him after recalling all that happened that day.

Instead of protesting like Riku did, John wordlessly summoned his weapon and joined in the battle against the shadows. They were always easy to be taken down, even in large numbers. It was their counterparts, the Neoshadows, that caused the most problems for Twilight Town residents.

And today, they fell just as easily. Riku stabbed the last of his enemies as John and I watched, the two of us already done with our fights. After looking around and making sure that no more Heartless were around, his aqua eyes found me and showed a combination of disbelief and retribution. Don't just rush into battle like that, his scolding eyes seemed to say.

My eyes gave an apathetic response, as did my slight shrug. Sorry. But I wasn't really sorry. Whether he realized that or not, he decided to let the topic go.

Riku walked up to the wall and examined it in the same place that he did before, glaring at the wall for some reason as I stood right next to the spot. "Step aside for a sec," he said. "I think I see something."

"What type of something?" I asked as I obeyed his request, stepping back and to the side so that I could see what he was going to do. John was curious as well, obviously.

"A door type of something," Riku said, shifting his body so that he could get his hands underneath some of the rocks. He grunted roughly as he started yanking, taking a step back as he tried to pull open the "door". Was that even what it was, though? I saw the rocks start cracking as Riku pulled on them, which was surprising to me. The seawall should have been more secure than that.

But it wasn't. And it wasn't just a seawall. A rectangular slab became more evident as Riku took another step back, using those toned muscles of his to pull it out of its place. It opened just like a door, though it required much more effort than a normal door would to open. I gasped as he opened it completely, seeing that there wasn't just a note or something concealed behind it.

There was a passage way that was only lit from the sunlight.

I inhaled a breath, remembering to breathe after a moment or two. We were here for a reason. Would this path lead me to my dad? There was only one way to find out. I started forward to enter the dark corridor.

"That's…a little creepy," John said from behind me, showing some hesitation as he lingered back. "How're we supposed to see in there?"

"Maybe there's a torch or something," I responded, stopping a foot or two into the area. Sure enough, on the wall, there was a torch that we could use. I took it out of its place and extended my hand by it, casting a small fire spell that lit the top of it on fire. That would work nicely to let us see the area. Turning around, I saw that Riku wasn't nervous about entering. John was, though. "C'mon," I said, continuing further into the area.

Riku's footsteps were heard behind mine, and after a moment, so were John's. "John, shut the door behind you," Riku said.

"W-what? Why?"

"We don't want anyone following us."

That idea spooked John, who never would have considered such a thing. "You think someone will?"

"I don't know."

"That's comforting," John muttered. Riku was silent, so John sighed and spoke again. "You sure I should be in the rear, then?"

"Shut the door and you won't have anything to worry about," Riku pointed out with some impatience.

"Guys, c'mon," I said, standing still as they squabbled. "I want to go deeper in."

"You sure this is a good idea?" John asked nervously.

Smiling faintly, I shook my head. "Nope," I responded, starting forward anyway. As long as I had the torch, those two would have to follow me wherever I went. Clearly John also had that mentality. He quickly shut the door and the whole area got darker as my torch was the only source of light. I felt a little bad for John; he was courageous, but he was also just a normal eighteen year old kid who was a little freaked out by this. I wasn't so freaked out because of how unpredictable my life was, so I took it in stride. That was the only choice that I had.

As we walked, our footsteps echoed throughout the cave-like path that we were in. It was tall enough that even Riku didn't have to duck, though, which was strange. Strange…and convenient, considering that my dad was also pretty tall. I couldn't shake the feeling that each step we took was getting us closer and closer to my father. My breath was caught in my throat because of that very thought, even if the dampness of this place wasn't helping.

The path declined and turned into a set of stairs. For this being a random cave that never was found before, it was awfully well taken care of. "We have to be close," I whispered, hearing my voice echo faintly throughout the narrow cave. Dad…

"Wait, here's a light switch," Riku said. His voice was slightly confused as we reached the bottom of the steps, but he reached over and flipped the switch anyway.

The lights turned on and revealed so much more than the torch had. "Holy cow, Batman," I said, shaking my head as I looked around the area. This is like a Batcave or something. There was furniture, a kitchen area, computer… It had everything that a person needed to live around here. Sure, the walls were still cave walls and the floor was pretty rough, but these were definitely livable conditions.

"I only see one entrance, and that's the one we just came in through," Riku said as he further observed the area. "So if somebody was here, they'd be in this room."

"There's no bed," John pointed out, waltzing further into the room.

"The couch looks like it could be a futon. Besides, it's not like he was living in the lap of luxury down here."

"How did he even do it? I mean, even just getting food down here would be hard. How'd he get in and out without anyone noticing?"

"You have me there, John," Riku said.

As the two of them spoke to each other, I started walking around the room that was a cross between a square and a circle. The wires were all over the walls instead of inwardly being wired like a normal house. Did…my dad do this himself? He did live here, didn't he? I walked right along the walls of the room and ran my fingertips over it lightly as I examined every aspect of the room. But then my fingers got caught in something. I stopped walking and kept my fingers where they were and peeked at that crack, seeing that it wasn't just a crack. It was another secret door.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw that both Riku and John were distracted in the kitchen area with their backs to me. For some reason, I didn't feel like telling them what I found. I wanted to see it for myself. So instead of speaking up, I became even more silent. I dug my fingers underneath the slab and silently eased it open to reveal another room.

I immediately noticed that the lights were already on.

After glancing at Riku and John one more time before I slipped in past that door into that room. The door shut almost completely behind me as I stepped into the narrow pass. There was nothing there, only walls to my sides and a ceiling above my head. There must have been something more further ahead. That was where I started walking to.

It didn't take long for me to reach that area though. One room with a light bulb on the ceiling on the table on the ground. A table covered with pictures...of me.

My heart started pounding very quickly as I silently approached the table. Many of the pictures were of me as a child. They were the photos from the albums that I found before. And speaking of those, they were sitting in the table to my right. This was where they went after they were taken out of my house. Whoever resided in this cave was watching me. And I could tell for more reasons than just the books being here. There were other photographs that were of me and I was past the age of six when they were taken. There was one of me when I was ten and going to my first voice recital. One when I was twelve and leaving school. And one when I was seventeen and at work. That was the most recent one.

There was one thing that I noticed though, and that was that all the photographs were candids. "This is a little…" A little what? It was actually scary. Somebody was watching me my whole life and I didn't know it. How oblivious was I?

I heard a small noise and nearly jumped out of my skin. Without thinking, I spun around towards the way I came in. And then my heart nearly stopped.

There was a man leaning against the wall. He had been there the whole time but I hadn't seen him because I hadn't turned around. But there he was in blue jeans and a dark T-shirt that showed off that he was still very in shape. But his bright blue eyes and spiky brown hair was what gave away his identity.

"…Dad," I said hoarsely. Dad. Father. Daddy. For the first time in over ten years, I was standing with him. He was alive and healthy and safe. My best friend was back with me. I choked back a sob and ran the small space between us. My arms weaved around him and squeezed him tightly as my head found his taller shoulder. Much to my joy, I felt his arms go around me as well. There was nothing like my strong father's extremely gentle but secure embrace.

"Hey sweetheart," he said lowly in my ear. Suddenly tears appeared in my eyes as I held him more tightly. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly as my heart pounded in my chest. What I was feeling was…indescribable. It was like he was raised from the dead. He was alive and so was I, and now we could finally be together again. No matter how confused I was about all of this, I was so thrilled that he was with me.

"You're really alive," I whispered through the tears that were now flowing.

"I am," Terry confirmed softly in my ear. "I knew you'd be smart enough to find me."

I shook my head faintly to counter that. "I wasn't," I admitted with some shame. "I couldn't figure it out. John did."

"John solved it?" he asked, sounding stunned. After I nodded to confirm it, he hummed. "I always knew he'd be good for you."

"What?" I inquired in confusion. What was that supposed to mean? John and I weren't even friends again until a day ago, or so I thought.

"Never mind. I'm just glad you're here…" My father kept one arm around me as he lifted his other hand to the back of my head. His fingers weaved between my brunette locks as he held me closely, unwilling to let me go. I wasn't willing to let him go either though; Twelve years apart were far too many. Twelve years I lived without my father…my best friend.

"I have so many questions," I whispered, though I didn't bother speaking any of my inquiries aloud. As long as I was with him, in his arms for a little longer, I could ignore the confusion. All that mattered right now was that he was alive and he was with me. While I wished I could say that was enough to conquer the questions forever, it wasn't. I needed to know what really happened that day, why he stayed away from me for twelve years, and why Isabella told me to ask him about my curse. The curse, I had almost forgotten about that, I thought to myself. I was good at forgetting, even without Isabella's help. The mere thought of her messing with my memories made the bitterness rise up in my heart again, so I clung to my dad more. Now wasn't the time to think about that.

"Steph!"

I grunted at the muffled voice and turned my head, glancing back the direction I came from. Riku and John finally discovered that I wasn't in the same room as them anymore.

"Steph, where are you?"

As I opened my mouth to yell a response to Riku, my father beat me to it. "You brought people down here with you?" he asked lowly. His tone was tense for some reason that I couldn't understand.

"I did," I said hesitantly. "Why, is that a problem?"

A sudden banging at the entrance to this area made me jump. Terry's arms stayed around me as Riku and John's murmured voices grew louder. They forced the entrance open even if they didn't need to; it wasn't like it was hard to open in the first place.

"Steph, you back here?" Riku hollered. He quickly appeared in my sight before I could answer, with John right on his tail. While John looked stunned and relieved to see my dad, Riku didn't share the same expression. In fact, he looked more worried now than he had before. He probably just found it odd I was hugging a total stranger. John knew who my dad was, but clearly Riku didn't.

"Riku, this is my dad," I said softly to him. The air was still extremely tense for some reason, though I wasn't aware that the tension wasn't just from my boyfriend. My father's embrace around me stayed tight even after I started releasing him to turn and look at Riku and John. "Terry."

"Do I know you?" Riku inquired quite suddenly, staring at my dad with intense aqua eyes. How would they know each other?

"Doubt it. I've never seen you before in my life," Dad responded bluntly.

"Hmph."

Slowly, regretfully, I released my father completely. Something was seriously wrong here; I could see that now. Riku was as stiff as a board and John was glancing between everyone in the room in absolute confusion. I turned around to face John and Riku completely as my father's strong hands landed on my shoulders and stayed there. "What's wrong?" I asked, mostly speaking to Riku.

"Can you come stand over by me, Steph?"

That only made my confusion increase. "Why?"

"I can't explain right now. Can you just come over?"

You're really tearing me apart from Dad after I just found him? I thought silently, glancing from Riku to Terry. I wanted to trust Riku and go over to him without hesitating, but I also wanted to be here with my father. Twelve years was far too long to be apart from my best friend.

"You don't have to do as he says, you know," Dad said as he squeezed my shoulders. His bright blue eyes were locked on mine as I gazed right back at him in silence. "Who is he to tell you where to go?"

"I'm her overprotective bodyguard, and boyfriend. Riku," the silver haired young man responded in close to a growl. What was up with that tone?

"And I'm her overprotective father," Terry responded lowly. "So you won't be protecting her any more. I will."

"It's you she needs protecting from!" Riku snarled. To my shock, he summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the man standing behind me. I had seen him angry before, but this wasn't anger. This was fury.

"Riku!" I choked out scoldingly. But nobody was listening to me.

"Funny, I was thinking it was the other way around," Terry responded as he took a hand off my shoulder.

"Dad!"

"I have a lot of questions to ask you," Riku said lowly. "Let go of Steph."

"If you think I'd harm my own daughter, you're insane," he hissed. "You, on the other hand, are worth being worried about you. You wield a Keyblade."

"Yes I do. And I use it to protect the people I care about. Like Steph. I can guarantee I've done a much better job protecting her lately than you have, considering you left her."

"I didn't leave her! I've been watching out for her for her whole life. You can't say that, can you?"

"No, and I don't want to. Because I did something more than watch out for her; I stepped in. I did something to protect her whenever she was threatened." On a roll, Riku continued. "You know, despite the magnitude of all the threats towards her in the past, I think you're the worst."

"You're the threat here, not me. The Keyblade attracts nothing but trouble and so do you. I can sense that."

"Dad, Riku, stop it!" I cried out in interruption. Again, they didn't listen to me. Was I invisible or were they just acting like it?

"Yeah, well, I can sense the Darkness in you," Riku spat lowly. I gasped and looked at him with wide eyes as I finally understood why he was so upset. He had that sense of "smell" that nobody else had; he could sense the Darkness within a person's heart and how great it was. And if my dad "reeked" of that Darkness, then he had a right to be concerned. Sort of. I knew Dad would never, ever hurt me. "Steph, come over here. Now."

My father's hand remained on my shoulder as I looked at Riku, mentally unsure of everything now. "What are you going to do?" I asked shakily. Would he…hurt my dad?

"I'll do what I have to do to keep you safe."

"She is safe as long as she's with me."

Riku ignored Terry's remark and took a small step forward, offering me his hand as his Keyblade dangled by his side. "Steph, please…"

I swallowed back some tears and glanced back at my dad in time to see him looking down at me. "Just…tell me the truth," I said, slowly slipping out from underneath his hand and taking a small step away. Obviously it wasn't what Riku wanted, but I wasn't about to give up on my dad! Whether his heart was dark or not, he was still my father. I loved him no matter what, whether he was at his best or at his worst. I knew that he loved me the same.

"I can't tell you here, sweetheart," Dad responded quietly. He briefly glanced at Riku before he looked down at me, his reason for keeping silent obvious. He didn't want Riku hearing whatever he had to say.

"Steph, come here," Riku said.

"You do what you want to do. Don't let him order you around."

"I know what's best for you right now. Get away from your dad."

"It's not all it seems to be."

"The Darkness isn't all that hard to figure out."

"Oh yes it is."

"You're speaking from experience, huh?" Riku spat. "You're not denying that your heart is the darkest black possible?"

"I'm not having this conversation with you. This something need I discuss with my daughter alone."

"Yeah, well, that's not going to happen," my boyfriend said. He took a step forward and grabbed a hold of my arm, yanking me back closer to where John was still standing in stunned silence. I stumbled over my feet and was fortunately balanced when that same boy set a hand on my back to keep me from falling. Riku was a little too busy to do that. He stood directly in front of me in his stance, Keyblade held tightly as he glared at my dad. "I'm not leaving her alone with somebody like you."

"Riku, this is her father!" John finally said, breaking his long silence as he stood up for me. "Shouldn't this be her decision?"

Riku turned around and glared at John, though that glare was probably just left over anger directed at my dad. "You really want her alone with somebody you know nothing about? Somebody who tricked you into believing they were dead for twelve years? His heart is nearly pure black. You want her emotions clouding her judgment so she goes with him and gets into trouble?"

"…No," he finally said. "No, I don't." I looked over my shoulder at John as his hand remained on my back. Why did he have to take Riku's side on this? I didn't care if my emotions were in the way! I couldn't let my dad believe that I hated him. That would never, ever happen. Just like he would always be on my side, I would always be on his. Was it naïve to think that way? Absolutely. Even I realized that. But some things were naturally simple. The love between a father and his daughter never died. I'd always be "daddy's little girl".

"That's what I thought," Riku said as he brought me back to the current moment. He finally looked down at my eyes directly with some newfound softness. "You'll understand someday," he said softly to me.

Right…I thought. Maybe.

"Now," Riku said, spinning around to face the other direction. "Time for some answer-"

There was nobody standing there to answer the questions that he had. I hadn't noticed it since Riku's body was blocking the way before, but my father took his leave. "Dad?" I whispered into the silent air. But he wasn't there any longer, clearly. He left. Right after we were reunited, he left. Because of that, I was forced to really dwell on what happened. If he was filled with Darkness, then we had some serious problems.

Dad…Are you still my best friend, or are you my enemy?