Okay, bear with me in this chapter. There is a reason it's in here, I promise.

I hope you enjoy it.

I don't own anything except the volcano and...no, that's about it.

When Riku managed to get away from the crowd outside, he came back into the room, chuckling to himself and practically glowing. It was as if he was just purposely rubbing everything into my face. Two-faced bastard. I rolled over bed and put my back to him, gritting my teeth as he came near.

"Sora…?" He whispered. "You awake?"

I bit my tongue and didn't answer.

"Heh. Figures. Sleepy head." He leaned over and I shut my eyes, feigning sleep. "Sweet dreams then."

I nearly flinched when his lips brushed my forehead before he moved away from me. Opening my eyes, I stayed there, tense. That had felt so familiar…hadn't he done that before? I shifted into a more comfortable position, trying to appear like I was still fast asleep.

Riku continued to move about the room, humming a strange song that soothed my frayed nerves. It was went on for a few more minutes before Riku greeted someone as they came in.

"Is everything going well?" Riku added.

"Yes. Just a few places that need patching up. But there is one large area that seems to have been hollow and is wide open."

"Hollow? What's inside?"

"A lava pool."

"Hm…interesting. I'll look into soon. Thank you, Tidus."

I waited a few more minutes before sitting up in bed, looking over to see he was now bent over an odd statue, its' blue spirals all ending with different-colored gems embedded into it. An abstract piece of work, but certainly appealing to the eye.

"…what's that?"

His head shot up. "Sora! You're awake!"

With a smile, he got to his feet, coming over to me. I immediately had the instinctive feeling to move away from his reach, but restrained myself. His smile faded as he got closer.

"Sora?"

"Um, sorry. I'm just feeling a bit drowsy. I'll be fine in a couple hours." I lied.

He paused and nodded. "Alright. Here, come over and let me show you my little trophy. It took me a good while to make it."

He held out a hand, which I hesitated before taking. My imagination took over again for just a second, showing Vanitas sitting in seiza beside the trophy, smirking at me. Swallowing my fear, I kicked the image from my head and sat down in front of the trophy, Riku sitting beside me.

"So…a trophy?" A failed attempt at conversation, but it was all I could think of. "What sort of trophy?"

"Well, sort of. I stole the materials from my home and I used them to make…well, this. I consider it a trophy, though. My trophy of freedom."

"Oh…"

"Knock knock. Sorry to barge in again, but we kinda need you, Riku. The hollow place with the lava pool is beginning to overflow."

Riku sighed and got up. "Alright, show me the way. The quicker I see it, the quicker we can come up with a solution." I stood as well. "Sora, this is Tidus. Tidus, you know who this is."

He looked young, but strong, with his shoulders back and chin raised. He grinned at me and nodded, then waved to the door while moving towards, beckoning Riku to follow after him. I stayed where I was and watched as Tidus walked out. Riku paused at the doorway.

"You're welcome to come with us."

I gave a strained smile. "I don't want to be in the way."

An odd look passed over his face, stepping back into the room. "Sora, are you sure everything's okay? You seem…off."

"I'm fine." I insisted, then made a quick decision. "I guess I'll join you."

He said nothing for a few tense moments. "Alright. Come on."

He walked out and I took a deep breath before following after him, coming out into the hallway. Tidus, with his arms crossed, groaned.

"Finally! Come on, Ri'. Let's get this over with so I can get some food in my stomach."

The two began a conversation of jabs and jokes, Tidus having a carefree and strong personality. Riku kept giving me weird glances every so often, as if worried I was going to run off. It wasn't until we turned around a bend that we came to a circle of people surroundings an enormous gap in the wall.

"Alright, move aside everyone. Riku's coming through."

Everyone did so, greeting the two of them while I held back and stared inside the hole. It held a bubbling mass of blackness, its' texture a strange mixture of liquid and solid as it began to fill the gap, trying spill onto the other side.

"Well, I can't say I'm glad to see the lava of this volcano hasn't changed. Still disturbing as ever." He turned to Aqua. "Would you happen to have any more stars, Aqua?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." She reached into a small pouch that rested against her hip and pulled out a little jar of colorful miniature stars, handing it over to Riku. "Throw in about five, just to be on the safe side."

He opened it and picked out the five, then stepped up to the hole and threw them in. I stood on tiptoe and gasped as the strange lava immediately jumped backward, a dim glow coming from the stars. It then became a blob of darkness and vanished from view, back into the volcano. Riku stepped through the hole and looked around before nodding and shutting the jar.

"I'll make sure nothing else is wrong here and then we can see if we can make something out of this. Aqua." She moved forward and retrieved her jar. "Thank you. You're always prepared."

He made a few orders, waving a couple people to join him and begin talking, their words echoing out of the hole. I stayed where I was, wondering what I should do now. Do I wait for him to finish? Do I join him? Was I just getting in the way by staying here?

"Sora? Come join us, but be careful." Riku shouted.

That answered that question. I didn't move for a moment, wondering if he would dislike me for refusing the command, then thought better of it and climbed in with the rest, looking around.

The hollowed out room was tall, curving upward into an oval, the lava nowhere to be seen. What an odd piece of nature.

"We can't dig here. The sensation might trigger an eruption, regardless of how careful we may be."

I let them converse and figure out a strategy as I slowly moved about the room, fascinated at nature and the possibilities of it. To think that the elements had made this without any help. I smiled as I brushed my hand against the walls, finding it to be smooth and warm to the touch.

"Sora!"

Uh oh. What'd Sora do now?

Guess you'll find out in the next chapter!