Author's Note: Long wait... Sorry bout that. I have no excuses. Life comes first and that is all there really is to it. So for those of you who have waited for this long, this is for you.

Stepping through the portal, Neo found herself nearly blinded by the light. Her footsteps were on solid rock beneath as she looked around and got her vision back she found herself surrounded by larger leafy trees. Healthy greens, deep purples, and bright yellows came from all of the plant life around her. Next to her, she sensed Nero's presence as he too seemed to be stumbling around somewhat blind. As she finally acclimated to the light, she found herself standing atop a tall boulder and surrounded by water. The two of them had ended up on an island of some sort. Neo walked forward again and her foot found a slippery surface. Her feet slipped out from under her and she found herself sliding down the side of the boulder. A splash and impact against a low surface, shocked her system and emptied her lungs which began to forcibly try to regain air and met nothing but water.

After a few moments, another splash joined her and she was scooped up out of the water. She expected to see Nero supporting her weight, but she found herself looking at shoulder length, truly silver hair atop the head of a teenage boy in black short sleeve jacket with black and white checkered trim.

She was set down on the ground around the edge of the small pool and Neo began coughing up the water she inhaled after the initial impact. "Just get it all out, alright?" the young man said as he began gathering her hair out of the way. "Luckily you landed in the pure water otherwise this would be a whole lot worse, I promise you," he commented.

"Neo!" Nero called out as he leapt down into the sandbed nearby. "Neo are you al-?! Riku?"

"Nero?" Riku replied. The young man who saved Neo climbed out of the water and she watched him make his way over to Nero and the two of them gave each other a knowing hug. It was short but it suggested a long awaited reunion. "It's been a really long time. How did you two get here and uh, who's this?"

"Her name is Neo. She uh, comes from Remnant, speaking of which. Did you realize that there is a portal to Remnant, right up there?" Nero asked.

Riku looked up and asked, "A second portal?"

"You have a second one, too?" Neo asked as she finished coughing.

"Apparently," Riku commented. "So, you ended up in Remnant through a portal, and you have followed through to another portal that leads you up on top of our island? This is really complicated. How long do those guys expect me to keep everything sitting still on this?"

"Sit still? What's going on?" Nero asked.

Riku sighed and said, "Dante and the other Guardians of Light all took off five days ago to go and try to find Sora and-"

"Wait, Dante?" Nero asked.

"Yeah, he-" Riku continued before he trailed off. "You didn't know."

Nero nodded and said, "Last I saw him he was locking himself in hell to save my world. That was months ago."

"Strange," Riku said as he thought about what Nero had just informed him. "Five days ago he came here and rallied the Guardians of Light to go and find Sora. Then just about two days ago, I found a portal on the backside of this island. I tried to close it with the Keyblade, but it won't go away. On top of which, ever since she found out about their mission, Kairi has been all sorts of a mess about it. She spends every moment realistically possible in the Secret Place. She's stopped talking to any of us."

"Kairi," Nero commented out loud. "Can I go see her?"

"Oh, right," Riku remembered. That day that they lost her. Nero had been injured by his father, his arm ripped off. Kairi fought him to her last and died in front of him. "If she'll see you, she's in there." Riku pointed at a small cave opening under the roots of the large tree. Nero nodded and he turned towards it.

"Neo, you coming?" he asked Neo as she finally got up to her feet.

Neo shook her head and said, "No. If what he said is true, she's not going to want to meet a stranger. You'll have a better chance without me. Wish her well, alright?" Nero nodded, stepped away and disappeared into the cave. Neo looked down at her soaked clothes. She sighed and looked over at Riku.

"Thank you for helping me," Neo said to him.

"Of course," Riku replied as he sat down and removed his shoes. "Nero said you were from Remnant. Did you maybe know Yang and Ruby?"

"Technically yes, but probably not the way you are hoping," Neo replied honestly. "I was an enemy to the hunters during the set up and the execution of the Fall of Beacon. So I know them. But they were enemies of mine."

Riku was quiet as he thought for a moment. After a moment he chuckled and said, "So you are that Neo. Nero has got a talent for trying to help people like us, doesn't he?"

"Like us?"

"Yeah, misguided and needing redemption. Tying to help guide us down the right path, right?" Riku offered. "You used to be a criminal, I used to be a puppet of the darkness and even tried to kill my best friend. We both have things we regret in our past. I used to be slow to trust, but Nero taught me that just because people have darkness doesn't mean that they cannot be good people. I don't know if I have redeemed myself. I don't know if I ever will. But I will never stop trying to reach out for it. But maybe that is all we can really do, huh?"

Neo was quiet as she thought about his words. After some time she asked, "What is motivating you to seek redemption?"

Riku paused. "You know, nobody has asked me that before? I don't know if I have the words prepared to express it. But let me try. The thing that used to motivate me was power. The power to control my own destiny. I saw everything the world had to offer me as if it were mine for the taking. It's the reason that there are still remnants of a large raft on the backside of this island, " Riku explained. "When I was first introduced to the darkness, it was in the form of a witch named Maleficent.

"She promised me the power to achieve everything that I wanted and more. The first time we thought we lost Kairi, I wanted to put her promise to the test and save her myself. Because I found out that Sora too had obtained some kind of power. The Keyblade. It allowed him to do the things that I was doing. That was the first time I should have admitted to myself that I was jealous of him. Power to control his own destiny and it didn't even come with a deal with the devil. How could I not be jealous? But Maleficent had me where she wanted me. She convinced me that it was not jealousy but contempt for someone who was clearly not as worthy of my power as I was.

"Sora ultimately ended up defeating me. And for some time I was lost in the darkness without a way back out. Once I was led out, I told myself that I wasn't worthy of the light. Nor was I worthy of Sora's friendship or Kairi's care. So I disappeared and simply watched over them from the shadows. A quiet sentinel that would be forever at the sides of their vision but would disappear before they could get a good look at me. And for over a year, it worked. Until they dragged me back into the light.

"It never made sense to me why they seemed to forgive so easily. But they did. And I became… too comfortable. I let my guard down. Because when this last leg of the journey had started and we truly lost Kairi… I failed to chase down the one responsible. So the only way I could keep myself from turning it in on myself was to place it on Sora. I embraced the darkness again like a long lost friend and I let it turn me into a monster. Sora being the person he is and the magnet for good people that he has always been, dragged me back to the light once more. And he forgave me again. Despite everything, I keep making mistakes. But he didn't hold them against me. He simply just tried to help me learn from them. And I think that is why I pursue redemption. Because he never gave up on me. And I don't want to prove him wrong."

Neo held on to his every word and processed the explanation. One good person believed in Riku and brought him to the light. And by that person's willingness to forgive he has continued to try to be a good person. Not because he believes he needs to do it for himself, but because he owes it to the people around him. Just like Aqua believed in her, and Roman released her from his lifestyle so that she could make her own choices. Could Neo be able to seek redemption like Riku does?

"By the way," Riku asked, interrupting her train of thought. "Do you want to see Ven again? He's here on the island."

"Could I?" Neo asked. She needed to thank him and apologies for not believing him when he came all that way to give her Roman's last words for her. So Riku led her up a couple of ladders to a higher up platform. It was nearly as tall as the rock this island was formed around. When she got there, she was greeted by a few strangers and one familiar face. Or actually, two?

"Neo, these people are Terra, Lea, Xion, Namine, Isa, Ven of course, and Roxas. Guys, this is Neo," Riku introduced everyone. "How did the trip back to Twilight Town go, by the way?"

"It went fine, though the Twilight Town gang didn't exactly like being left behind even though they understood why we took them back," Lea replied. Neo observed each person in sequence as they proceeded to greet her. The one called Lea had brushed back spiky red hair. Despite an aloof appearance, there was a sharpness to his gaze that made Neo know he cared more than he let on.

"Greetings," the one called Isa said as he greeted her. Long blue hair framed a crossed scar between his blue eyes. His demeanor was calm but his state of constant readiness suggested an underlying aggression that she could not quite put her finger on.

The two young women named Namine and Xion both took to her sides. They were just barely taller than her in her heels, the blonde one wore a white slip and carried a drawing pad. The other had black hair and a black blouse. The two of them almost felt like two different sides of the same coin. "It is nice to meet you, Neo," the one named Xion said. Namine nodded timidly.

Terra walked forward and said, "I've heard quite a bit about you from Aqua. It's good to meet you." Neo looked up at him and realized just how imposing this particular individual was in comparison. Large features, solid build, and a wise expression that betrayed his youthful features. "By the way, the 'twins' back there are difficult to tell apart if you don't know what you're looking for. Roxas is the one in the solid color jacket as compared to Ven's two toned jacket."

Neo nodded as she walked over to them. Roxas waved his hand and Ven seemed a little bashful, though Neo could not blame him. She could tell the two were completely different types of people despite their identical faces. "Hey Neo," Ven said hesitantly.

"V-Ven, I wanted to tell you something," Neo said with an equal amount of hesitation. "Thank you for coming to find me. You didn't have to come find me and pass Roman's last words on to me. But you did, and it really means a lot to me."

"Are you ok?" Ven asked. "Aqua mentioned that Roman was the only person you really have. How have you been?"

Neo shrugged. "I've just been existing. There really isn't anything else to it," she explained evenly. "Just being, by myself."

"You deserve better," Ven said suddenly. "Aqua thinks so too. She's worried about you, a lot."

"Maybe. But for now, Nero and I are trying to figure out these portals," she replied.

"We'd go with you, but we have a promise to keep memorized," Lea remarked. Neo's expression was slightly confused at his verbiage.

"Don't mind Lea," Isa commented. "It is part of a catchphrase he's had for as long as I have known him. Got this memorized, got that memorized. Lots of practicing his spelling too, isn't that right Roxas?"

"You got that right," Roxas joked back.

"Hey!"

"Now that isn't appropriate you guys," Xion said. "You know he's doing his best."

"Xion that wasn't any better," Namine faux-reprimanded. She hid a playful smile behind her drawing pad.

Lea scoffed and said, "Whatever! As I recall, I was the only one of any of us jokers who actually made it to the Keyblade War on the right side from the beginning." He looked away from the group with a bright red face. His outrage got some small laughs. Neo watched this interaction with interest. It did not quite resemble her interactions with Roman, which were much more leader and subordinate. It reminded her of the students at the academy. Fairly inane conversation and yet they were all having a good time. Then she thought about the conversations she had with Nero. Maybe this is what having friends was really like. Not everything has to be important in the bigger picture if it has meaning to the people talking.

"So Neo," Terra started casually, "how'd you end up here on the islands?"

Nero walked, mostly hunched over into the rounded cave path. The path went a bit longer than he was expecting as he finally caught sight of the open cavern. He straightened out too soon and the top of his head found the low ceiling.

"Ah, c'mon" Nero blurted out in pain. He stepped further into the larger cavern and finally stood up straight. His eyes were still adjusting back to the dark after the brightness of the island outside. He opened his mouth to call out to Kairi but his mind hesitated. He had promised himself a long time ago that he would stop calling out for people he knew were dead. But after a moment, he threw off the hesitation. Sora was gone now, not her.

"Kairi?" Nero said out loud into the darkness of the cave. "Kairi, it's Nero." He heard a small gasp and when he followed the sound, he saw a faint outline of a familiar person. One that he had not seen in a long time. He held out his hands to her and Kairi moved out of the darkness of the cave and wrapped her arms around him.

"Nero!" Kairi called out as her legs fell out from beneath her. She stayed up with her arms wrapped around him. He gingerly placed his hand on the top of her head as he held her. It seemed neither of them could really believe that the other was actually there. "Nero, your arm. I'm so sorry!"

"Whoa, Kairi why are you apologizing?" Nero asked as he supported her weight. "You don't have anything to apologize for. I was the one who put you in the position of protector while I was bleeding out. I put you in a no-win situation. I shouldn't have needed you to fight Vergil for me." He blinked back tears as the young woman he held close began sobbing. "Kairi, I'm so happy to see you again. You have no idea how much I missed you."

"N-Nero," Kairi began as she tried to find some semblance of control over her voice. "Sora's gone because of me." Nero remained quiet. He did not know how to respond to such a thing. "N-now Dante and the others have gone to go looking for him, and there's nothing I can do to help them. Why do I keep hurting the people I care about? Why can't I do anything right?"

Nero pulled her away so he could look her in the eyes as he said, "Hey, you didn't hurt me. You didn't make the decision to die. Vergil is the one who hurt the people who lost you. If Dante went looking for Sora, he did it for himself. We don't know for certain, but if Sora gave up his life for you, then any pain we felt was his fault not yours."

"He'd still be here if not for me," Kairi whispered. Nero did not know how to answer her so he just pulled her back into the hug. This was so far outside his comfort zone. How do you try to tell someone that they did nothing wrong when they so clearly believed that they are to blame? He closed his eyes and thought to himself. There is so much he should be able to tell her, but nothing would come to mind. But then he remembered.

After a moment, he knelt down and grabbed her hand with his flesh and blood hand. He finally said, "Look, I can't make you feel better. I can't make you feel happy if you're hurting. But what I can do, is everything in my power to fix the thing that's hurting you now. So I'm going to make you a deal. I'm going to find Dante and the others, give them all the support that I can, close the portals that have been appearing all over the place. And in exchange, you're going to hold onto this for me." Letting go of her hand, Nero reached into his pocket and revealed a golden necklace featuring a red crystal held in place by two overlapping wings. "This necklace was a gift I once gave Kyrie, the woman I am going to spend the rest of my life with. She recently gave it back to me. You know why? Because this necklace already brought me back to her time and again. She has been saved and protected. Now she no longer needs it because she is always going to have me. But others are always going to need my help. So this is yours, because as long as you have this I will come back and help you. Ok?"

Kairi took the necklace in hand and tentatively put it on. She looked at Nero's face and nodded. The heartbreak in her expression wounded him greatly, but he was going to get Sora back for her. Now that the promise was made, nothing would keep him from getting the job done. "These portals? They're how you got here?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, Neo, the person I'm working with, and I fell out of one ontop of the island. Riku said there is another one in the back, so we'll be headed out that way," Nero replied. "It is really complicated stuff, if I'm being honest. So hang on to that necklace for me, yeah?"

"I will," Kairi said with a nod.

Nero offered her his hand and asked, "Will you come introduce me to your friends?"

Five Days Earlier...

Larxene giggled as the two girls looked up at her defiantly. The giggle attempted to hide utter contempt for the two of them, though she seemed to be enjoying her time standing over them. After a moment, a shard of glass flew across the rooftop and left a gash in Larxene's face. With a light growl of anger, she looked over at Yuna who had shards of glass floating around her.

"So, you want to play too?" Larxene asked between clenched teeth. Six foudre appeared between her fingers with a fancy flourish. Aqua felt the blades in her back disappear. Yang seemed to recover as well, as she was immediately up on her feet and planting her fist against Larxene's cheek. Larxene however disappeared the moment of impact and reappeared above them throwing three knives down. Aqua leapt backward, pulling Yang with her as a wall of electricity filled the area they once occupied. Several more shards of glass flew through the air, Larxene dashed about dodging each shard and ended up on a nearby roof.

"Quit running!" Yang called out, hands and arms engulfed in flames. Yang punched the air toward Larxene and bolts of flame took flight across the rooftops. They managed to make the range, but Larxene's speed made landing these attacks impossible. Aqua stood back and watched this and began trying to calm down long enough to figure out this enemy. While lightning was completely integrated into Larxene's fighting style, she did not seem to actually control it the way Yang was currently controlling fire. Larxene's control of lighting was tied to her weapons, much like the way she used magic with the Keyblade. However, Larxene's speed was entirely her own. Aqua had never seen anyone as fast as her, even Dante and Master Xehanort paled in comparison to the speeds she was capable of achieving. So this meant that in order to beat her, you had to nearly predict her movements and move to counter almost before she began making them. Aqua then noted to herself, with water as her primary power on this world, she would need to be careful with engaging this enemy.

"My turn," Larxene cheered. She vanished with a small crackle of electricity. Reappearing next to Yang, she landed a quick jab to Yang's side and at the same moment, Aqua felt herself be hit in the back of the head. Falling forward, Aqua looked around and watched as two streaks of light dashed about the rooftops. One reformed into the sadistically smiling Larxene, who kicked Aqua across the rooftop. Yang found herself joining Aqua shortly after as she landed next to her. As Larxene reappeared in two places at once, a small circle of light glinted on both copies of her face which caused her to flinch and close her eyes. Yang kipped-up to her feet and planted a solid punch against Larxene's cheek in that moment. Aqua put her hands together and let loose a torrent of water that launched the other Larxene backwards. Looking over momentarily, Aqua saw Yuna manipulate shards of glass to reflect the sun's light. The sight was enough to draw a smile to Aqua's face.

A scream from the launching form of Larxene ripped Aqua's attention back over as Larxene yelled, "Don't you ignore me!" Larxene jabbed her daggers into the stream of water and let loose a torrent of electricity, Aqua ceased the attack, but could still feel the water on her hands, she knew she was about to be heavily shocked. A new crackle of electricity originated from behind her as suddenly a familiar mop of hair stood before her and with arms outstretched, she watched as Dante became electrocuted by the attack meant for her. Aqua almost reached out to him until she realized that he was not being electrocuted but he was in fact absorbing the energy.

"Dante? Where's Ruby?" Yang asked, surprised to see him but not her sister.

Dante replied, not looking away from the enemy now floating in the sky, "She's helping out a new friend with a… well let's just call it a situation for now. I saw the flashes of light and decided to come investigate, figured it was either you guys, Rise, or another conduit. Was not expecting to see an Organization jacket over here though. Speaking of which, I don't believe we've met!"

"True," Larxene replied. "You may not know me, but I know all about you, Dante. Son of Sparda."

"Y'know, it's been a while since anyone has called me that so blatantly," Dante remarked with a smirk. "Hey, are you floating up there using your electricity powers? Can't believe I never thought of that." Dante's feet suddenly left the rooftop as he drifted lazily upwards a few feet. "Thanks for the energy, by the way, was feeling like I needed to charge my batteries."

"Do you ever shut up?" Larxene asked with an annoyed look on her face, a faint aura of darkness seemed to emanate from her for a moment before it ceased just as suddenly. "I swear all of you 'full of yourself hero' types, just talk so much. Does it make you feel good? Is it to compensate for something? Why are you such a stereotypical loudmouth?"

"Well I mean," Dante remarked, "it's irritating you right? Well then, job well done."

Larxene laughed mirthlessly before she replied, "I will be back for you Dante. I can't wait to defeat you."

"Here I am," Dante said with a smirk.

Larxene shook her head and replied, "No, I am waiting for you to be at full power. Because I want to dismantle you piece by piece. Cause I heard that you had difficulty keeping up with the old man. Well let me tell you this." Larxene gave him a dark smile, her aura of darkness returning once more as he heard the words whispered behind him, "I'm so much faster." A portal appeared behind her and she disappeared into it. Dante felt his goosebumps rise when he realized that he did not even sense her move until she had already been behind him. A smile appeared on his face. This was going to be fun. He landed down on the rooftop and looked over at his three companions.

"Oh right! Ruby. Look you three head to the chowder place, wait for Rise there and I will be right back with your sister and our new friend," Dante said suddenly remembering himself.

Yuna looked over in the direction he came from and asked, "Do you want one of us to come with you?"

Dante shook his head saying, "We are heading out to deal with a volatile person and I don't think ambushing them is a good idea. We will be back soon, I promise." Aqua nodded. "Stay safe and look out for Rise."

"Stay safe Dante," Aqua said as he turned to leave.

Dante turned back and replied, "No promises." He fell backwards off the building with a smile.

After Dante left, saying he needed to check something out, Ruby and Delsin found themselves under fire from pink neon streaks of light. They hid behind an elevated portion of the roof and tried to wait for an opening to trace back to her sniper nest. Ruby peered over the edge of the roof and traced the fading streaks of light to a space between two billboards. Ruby felt her right hand begin to change to rose petals.

"She's between the billboards, if we can distract her between shots, we can close the distance between her and us," Ruby commented.

Delsin nodded and said, "Right, distraction shots and dash between cover. Ladies first." He popped up over the edge and let a bolt of smoke fly towards the Neon Conduit's vantage point. Ruby became rose petals that flew through the air to a nearby rooftop. Dodging the neon shots that followed shortly after her. Ruby heard Delsin call out to her, "Keep going! I'll keep her busy!" Delsin jumped out of cover and took multiple shots at her as he slowly moved forward.

Ruby leapt up from cover and made multiple mad dashes towards the billboards. Ruby leapt up and got a good look at the pink haired assailant. In a brief moment of pause, Ruby floated in front of her and the two of them seemed to make the same decision. The sniper's body completely dissipated into neon colors as she turned tail to run. Ruby's body exploded into a storm of petals as she gave chase. Dante had been right, it was a whole lot like using her powers but she felt something different this time. It felt powerful, but not as draining. So the chase was on. For them.

Ruby chased after the woman as the two of them eventually found themselves running down the tracks of an elevated monorail. The woman clearly had complete control of her powers as she made no mistakes when it came to using them to make as complicated of a route for her pursuer to follow as possible. Ruby however could tell that her own power was faster even if it was not as fine tuned or precise.

"Leave me alone!" the neon girl yelled back at Ruby.

Ruby yelled back, "I'm trying to help you!" Ruby looked forward and saw the black and yellow vehicles of the D.U.P. with members of their force pointing weapons in the direction of the two girls. Ruby pushed herself forward and eked past the neon form of the conduit girl. Sliding to a stop, Ruby launched herself perpendicular to the track as a missile was fired towards her. Wrapping her arms around the other girl, the two careened into a nearby alleyway.

"Get off of me," the conduit called.

Ruby let go of her and said, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't let you get blasted."

The two of them regarded each other for a moment before finally the conduit said, "You run fast for a person with a fake leg you know that? Thanks for the save, I guess. Name's Fetch."

"Ruby," Ruby replied. "Why did you fire on us?"

Fetch looked away before she said, "I thought you were looking for me because of the guys I killed."

"Why did you kill them?" Ruby asked.

Fetch shook her head and said, "That's a long story. I don't think we have enough time to tell it with those D.U.P.s down the street."

"Come with me, we're meeting my friends at a place that sells chowder, do you know it?" Ruby asked.

"Chowder? Near the Space Needle, right? My favorite. Let's get goin' then," Fetch answered.

"And they're both gone," Delsin commented idly. His attempt at giving chance had resulted in him making a couple blocks of progress before the two of them disappeared entirely. "Man, why can't my powers do that? Can't fly, can't run super fast for long distances."

"Excuse me," a young voice asked from behind him. Delsin spun around to see a young woman with twintails standing behind him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. But I wanted to ask, was the girl with you named Ruby by chance?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"My name is Rise, she's a friend of mine. A fellow conduit, y'know?" Rise said as she raised her hand to show her hand begin to split apart into dozens of wire like structures.

Delsin gulped at the display and said, "You wouldn't happen to have a big phone with a crown on it would you?"

"Of course," Rise replied. "You must be the one who told Ruby to have us all meet at the chowder restaurant."

"Name's Delsin," he replied. "Oh crap, the others are probably wondering where we are. Oh crap, if I show up without Ruby I am gonna be in so much trouble. I gotta go get her!" Delsin scattered through the air as several wisps of smoke and reappeared at the edge of the roof before he leapt off of it.

Rise thought for a moment before she said, "That's Delsin, huh?" After a moment she ran forward and looked down as she saw him running down the guard rail of a lower building. Rise thought back to her powers for a moment from her meeting with Celia. Rise held her hand out and let the strands of wire embed themselves into the wall of a nearby building. She then leapt up and pulled herself along the length of wire finding herself hanging off of a nearby window sill. "Oops, I gotta think these things through."

She proceeded to use her powers like a grappling hook and zipline like she was some kind of secret agent. Rise would never admit it out loud, but she was having fun feeling like a badass. Keeping up with Delsin was not easy as his form of travel was quite a bit more free form than her own, but luckily for her, much of his travel was limited to his own running speed so he was not really leaving her behind.

"Delsin, please slow down!" Rise called out as she found an opportunity to close some of the distance between them. Delsin turned and found himself being followed by the girl from before. Rise landed down on the roof he was on when he stopped. "You move fast you know that?" Rise said as she caught her breath. "Also, I respect the fact that you were concerned for Ruby, but she can take care of herself."

Delsin let out a slow exhale of air. "Look, I'm not super worried about her. I'm worried about me. That guy Dante kinda intimidates me. I watched him master his powers in like five seconds," Delsin answered. "I can't afford to make a guy like that dislike me. I've got enough to deal with in this city."

Rise stifled a giggle before she said, "Believe me, Dante is not the one you want to be scared of. It's Ruby sister. But I get what you mean. Could you lead me to this chowder location? I'm afraid I got myself turned around following you over here. I'll vouch for you."

Delsin looked at her for a moment before he said, "Uh yeah, sure. Said your name was Rise right?" The two of them began to make their way to the meeting place.

Rise nodded. "Did I hear that you got nicknamed 'Banner Man' by the local media?" she asked.

"Oh don't remind me. I should pay the guy who came up with that, a visit," Delsin joked. This got another giggle from Rise. "You seem really peppy for a conduit, y'know that?"

"Being the life of the party is my job, whether or not I'm a conduit. If the life of the party stops, then the people around her pay for it too y'know? It's my job to keep people's morale up," Rise replied. Delsin could not help but respect her resolve. Clearly, this role was important to her. "Delsin, why are you in Seattle anyway? This place is kinda a police state right now."

"That is practically the reason that I am here. The leader of the D.U.P. is a woman named Brooke Augustine, a conduit with the power over concrete. She attacked my tribe, and since I seem to be a power sponge, I need to get her powers so I can save them," Delsin explained.

Rise gasped when she heard about what Augustine did. The doubt that Celia was feeling really started to make sense now. If Augustine was willing to double-cross children, create child assassins, and even torture innocent civilians, there was something fundamentally broken about that woman.

"Hey, Rise…" Delsin began quietly. "Can I ask you about something?"

"Sure," Rise said curiously.

Delsin hesitated for a moment before he finally said, "Ruby and Dante mentioned someone. A friend that was no longer with you guys. I think they said his name was Sora?"

Rise tilted her head slightly before she said, "Sora was a friend of ours. He is kinda the reason we are all here. His leadership is what united us. Did they mention anything about why we were working together?"

"No but that is kinda why I wanted to ask. They looked up to him like a leader, not just a friend y'know? What is that about?" Delsin asked.

Rise paused for a moment before she said, "That is something I may want to save for when we are all together, if you wouldn't mind."

Delsin nodded and they traveled on in silence.