Another chapter done, and another chapter close to the end! We are almost there guys! Let's get to it!

Ch.14

The tour around the town was far more exciting than Sora had expected. He had expected it to be quiet amazing to see, but never before did he think he would ever see so much of it. Kairi and Demyx first continued showing Sora around the main part of town, with Kairi giving nearly a history lesson about various historical buildings.

They also headed down towards the shores of the town, opposite of the docks. There Sora got to see the clean and beautiful beach with children running around and playing in the shallow water. Sora took the moment though when there to walk to the edge of the shore and let the waves wash up over his feet.

He wanted to go back home already. Not that he wasn't enjoying the sights of the human world. But he missed his home. He missed his family and his friends. He understood now for many reasons why Demyx enjoyed coming up here, but for him it wasn't the same. It was cool and fascinating to see, but it wasn't his thing. He stood there, still staring out, making his longing to return to the waters even stronger. He sighed though, knowing that his task was not done yet. He still had to get to Riku and then find a way to save him.

There was a chance he had now. He had gotten a chance to find a way to save Riku. He wasn't sure how he would even do it, but he knew he had to find a way. He wasn't sure if Xion would tell Riku that he would be coming or not, but he could only hope. Or if she wasn't able to tell him, it would maybe for more of a surprise. Sora wasn't sure which he thought was better, but he didn't linger too much on it as he turned around to head back to Demyx and Kairi.

Xion had returned to the lab and headed inside to the break-room. She placed down the bags she had, some of which contained food. Once everything was away that needed to be, she took a small yogurt cup from the fridge and sat down at the table.

As she ate, her thoughts started to run about the encounter she had just had. That event was something she did not expect to happen. At first she thought it was just a coincidence, with someone having the same name; Sora. But as soon as he curiosity made her look, she knew all too well that it was more than just that.

"They really do look similar…" Xion thought to herself. "Maybe I should have told Sora about Vani… but from what Riku said, Sora probably doesn't even know Vanitas exists. Maybe that will be more of a surprise then when they come… I still need to talk to Ienzo about it first."

Xion sighed to herself as she leaned back in the chair. She knew Ienzo would understand the situation. But the hard part would be trying to convince him. It wasn't that he would oppose the idea of letting in Sora to see Riku… Xion knew it wasn't that case. She knew her brother also felt bad that Riku was separated from him. There were still days where the two of them wished they could truly do something more, something to help.

But they still did not want to hurt their father's heart. He was the one who took them in and adopted them. Gave them love and kindness and always would make time for them. Instead of being a father that always worked too hard and never had time for them, he would always bring them with so they could work alongside him. Early on Ienzo and Xion learned that their father was amazing at his work and they found themselves wanting to help him more and more. So to go against him like that, and ruin his research… it was not something they thought of ever doing.

While Xion continued to think through her thoughts, the door to the break-room opened up and none other than Ienzo stepped in. He gave a smiled as he took off his lab coat, revealing his grey sweater vest and black pants underneath. After placing the lab coat on the coat rack he headed over to the fridge and looked around inside. He picked out a small bowl containing salad that was garnished with small fruit bits. When he closed the fridge, he walked to the table and sat down across from Xion.

"How was the trip into town?" Ienzo asked casually as he opened up the salad and began to eat it.

"It was good… though…" Xion paused for a moment as she tried to think of how to phrase her next sentence. "I ran into someone… someone that I never thought to see."

"Oh? And who would that be?"

Xion looked around the room, even though fully knowing it was just the two of them at the moment. She leaned forward on the table, getting closer to her brother. With them being alone, she still felt it was better to talk as quietly as possible about it.

"I saw Sora."

Ienzo raised an eyebrow, confused by her statement. "What? Sora?"

"Sora. Riku's boyfriend… Vanitas's younger brother," Xion replied.

"But…" Ienzo placed down the fork he was using to eat his salad and stared directly at Xion. "Like in town? Or by the water?"

"No I mean in town. Like walking around on legs and everything," Xion replied as she shook her head slightly. Even now she still did not understand how it was possible, but she knew it had in fact happened.

"But how…? How is that possible?" Ienzo asked. "Vanitas never told us merfolk could do anything like that. Unless he was too young to know about such a thing…"

Xion shook her head again, remembering the words that the other man had said. "No I don't think it is something they could do. There was two others with Sora. One of them I know for sure is a merman 'cause of what he said. There was also a girl with them, but not only have I seen her in town before, but also she didn't seem to know as much as Sora and the other one did. So I figured she is just friends with them, but is human."

"But how did they even get on land then? That is the part that doesn't make any sense," Ienzo said as he started to think it over.

"I don't know. I didn't catch most of their conversation as it wasn't my business. But when I heard his name, I looked and saw him. He does have a strong resemblance to Vanitas."

"So… where are you leading with this? You must have done something correct? I would assume that you of all people didn't just stare and then walk away," Ienzo said.

"Yeah… I ended up talking to them and…" Xion trailed off as she took in a deep breath. "I promised Sora and his friends that I would help them sneak into see Riku tonight."

Ienzo's eyes widened. "What? Xion you know that we can't-"

"I only said that they could see Riku. I told them that I couldn't help get him out. I did tell them that. Told them I don't want to upset father… but I wanted Sora and Riku to at least see each other again."

"But that is a big risk to try and sneak them in," Ienzo replied.

"I know, I know. But that is why I need your help. So we can get them in safely tonight. Please Ienzo, I know you too wanna help cheer up Riku. Right?"

Ienzo sighed as he averted his gaze. He agreed with Xion, though he had the same level of confliction as her. They both wanted to help Riku feel better, but they didn't know how to. They knew he was clearly not happy there and probably never would ever completely cheer up given his circumstances.

Finally he sighed and gave his answer. "Yeah, you're right. It is still risky, but I know you were doing it with good intentions. Did you set up a proper time and place though for them to meet you?"

"Uh-huh. Tonight at the northeast side of the gate at ten minutes to eleven."

"Okay, that's easy enough then. But there is still one thing I am wondering about…"

"And what's that?" Xion asked.

"How are we going to get Sora to leave then? We can't let him stay of course and we can't have him try to break Riku out. That would cause a mess for sure."

"I don't know about that… he knows though that I can't do it. But… But maybe Sora and his friends could find a way? And then… then Vanitas could be free to go back home…" Xion trailed off as she looked down at the table.

"Yeah… that would be nice…" Ienzo added quietly.

Xion finally sat back properly in her seat and a uncomfortable silence entered the room. Both of them had always had the thought of finding a way to get Vanitas back to the ocean. They knew that he had grown use to being here, but he did wish to go back home. It was only in his nature to want to be out there in the open waters. But as the years went by, they spent more time with him, and they got closer to him. They were his only friends he had, and he grew to liking them over time.

But while they did wish they could get Vanitas home… even if they were able to do such a thing… it would be hard for all of them. They had all grown so close over the past eighteen years. Nearly every night Xion and Ienzo would sneak into the lab to talk to Vanitas. They had gotten to know him… and the thought of never seeing him again… it worried them a lot. It was all apart of their confliction. They wished for Vanitas to return home safely… but they knew it would hurt all three of their hearts for that to happen. There was a unspoken bond between the three of them, and not one of them wished to break it.

"Should we tell Riku and Vanitas though?" Ienzo asked. "Wait did you even tell Sora about Vanitas?"

"No I didn't. And I don't think we should tell Riku or Vanitas. Just in case something goes wrong… I don't want to get up their hopes over it. But if it does work out, it would be a nice surprise for both of them."

"You do have a point there. So… " Ienzo gave a sharp exhale. "I guess we are really doing this tonight."

"Yeah seems like it," Xion agreed. "Now all we have to do is wait."

I am not exactly sure how many more chapters, but I know we are nearing the end. Just gotta see how it is written. But hope you guys enjoyed that!