"Where's Riku?" Sephiroth asked as he finally arrived at the meeting place.
The meeting place was a big mansion-like house in a very sunny place located in another continent.
"What took you so long? We've been here for three hours already. Is the box with you?" Cloud asked.
Sephiroth frowned at him. "No. It's with Riku. And it took me long to get here because I was looking for him. Then I figured he must've escaped with you guys." He explained.
"Nope. He's not with us. We thought he was with you all the time." Cloud told them.
Silence.
"Uh-oh…" Cloud muttered under his breath.
Sora blinked. "Why? What's wrong? What's so important about that box anyway?" he asked curiously.
"You're too young to understand, son." Cloud explained.
"What?! Dad, come on! I'm 14!" Sora remarked.
"You ask your mother later when we get home." Cloud just told him before they all turned to the doorway of the living room area when they heard some footsteps approaching.
"Where's Kairi?" Sephiroth asked.
"She already went home. Her mom's looking for her already anyway." Cloud told him simply before greeting the person who just entered. "Hey, Rufus."
Sora gazed up at the tall man with blonde hair brushed back, but a few strands were still loose, falling upon his face. He had icy blue eyes and he was wearing a black turtleneck and white pants underneath a long white vest and a white blazer. The man just raised his eyebrows at Cloud for a moment as a greeting, but he did not say anything. He shoved his hands inside his pockets as he gazed down at Cloud.
Cloud turned to Sephiroth. Sephiroth just made a face.
Cloud just turned back to Rufus and smiled slightly. "I'd like you to meet my son, Sora. He also helped in retrieving the item that you asked us to find." He said as he referred to Sora who was still seated on the couch.
Rufus nodded his head in greeting before offering a handshake to the young boy. Sora looked at Rufus's hand for a while before he got up and shook it eagerly, "Pleased to meet you, sir." He said.
Rufus smiled slightly at him before turning back to Cloud. "So this is the boy that Aerith is so proud of. I always hear her talking about him whenever she's with Tifa." He explained.
"That's my boy." Cloud said proudly as he patted his son's head.
Sephiroth cleared his throat, making everyone look at him. "By any chance… did… a boy with silver hair… wearing yellow… arrived here earlier before Cloud did?" he asked Rufus.
Rufus thought for a while before he shook his head, "The paper boy wore yellow today but he doesn't have silver hair. Why? Who is he?" he asked.
Sephiroth sat down on the couch with a worried look on his face. "Don't tell me he got lost…" he muttered.
"Who?" Rufus asked.
"What? Riku?" Sora asked in surprise as he sat down beside Sephiroth.
"The box, unfortunately, is with him… he's Sephiroth's son." Cloud explained to Rufus.
"We could wait for him here." Sora said hopefully.
"He's not familiar with this area… and it might take him a long time before he could come here." Sephiroth replied with a deep frown on his face.
Silence.
"Then what are we going to do?" Cloud asked.
"I'll… just search for him, dad." Sora said.
"But you're also unfamiliar with this continent," Cloud told him.
"I know but… if you give me map, I can find my way back here. Besides, I'll take Kairi with me. I won't go alone," Sora said happily.
"You'd better ask permission from her mother first." Sephiroth told him.
"I will, don't worry, Mister Sephiroth." Sora told him with a proud look on his face before Cloud turned to Rufus with a serious look on his face, "Can he borrow a map from you?" he asked.
"He can buy a map at the souvenir shop near the pier for only a Gil. My map's nailed to the wall and it's already framed… or maybe he'd like to carry around a heavy piece of antiquity?" Rufus replied before flipping his hair.
"Very funny," Cloud remarked.
Riku slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was floating on water. He gasped for air and got to his feet, but half of his body was still immersed in water. He looked around him but it was so dark… and he looked up… but all he could see was a circular light.
The well.
His eyes widened in shock when he remembered falling into it… and that person who made him fall inside the well must've replaced the lid on it!
"NO!!!" he cried out as he pounded an angry fist against the cold mossy stone wall behind him. The pounding sound echoed throughout the well. He looked up to examine the little light escaping through the sides of the lid, but it wasn't enough to make him see the inside of his watery trap.
"Dammit," he cursed. Then, he realized that he was still holding the box. He frowned angrily. "All this trouble just because of this stupid box! What's inside anyway?!" he said out loud with an angry tone. He opened it, but it was too dark that he could not even see anything. "What's the use…" he mumbled desperately. He closed it and then slipped it inside his shirt. He tried to feel the walls of well for some support so that he could climb up, but everything was slippery and it would be too hard for him to climb up because it's either he let his nails go or have numb fingers doing so.
"HEEEEELP!!!!!" he cried out.
His loud voice echoed all over the well, but it did not escape from inside.
He grumbled. "Aw man! Nobody would hear me!" he sighed heavily as he bowed down his head sadly. "Not even dad could find me here… and mom's gonna get worried… and…" he bit his lower lip. "Don't tell me I'm going to die here!?" he exclaimed.
Silence.
He took a step backward, hoping to lean against the wall behind him, but he froze when he felt something hit his back. He moved his hand, feeling the water… and felt some hair touch his fingers. His eyes widened before he slowly turned around and began to feel what's in front of him.
Standing before him…
Unmoving.
His mouth dropped open when he was able to make out the contours of a human body and a face… and long hair. He shivered.
And he felt a hand grab his left wrist and he suddenly screamed out of fear and surprise because of the tightness of the grip.
The hand would not let him go.
He continued to scream, "Let go of me!!!"
But the grip tightened more around his wrist until he was already in pain. "Ow! It hurts! Let go of me!" he pushed the person away from him.
He heard a thud. The person's back hit the wall. He heard a soft grunt.
…sounds like a girl.
His eyes widened. "Oh my God… I'm… sorry…" he began.
No answer.
But he heard movement against the water… coming nearer to him. He felt a pair of small hands exploring his hands, traveling up to his shoulders slowly.
"P…please don't hurt me… who…who are you?" he asked, suddenly afraid. The hands felt so soft and so cold against his skin… so deathly… and he shivered at the touch.
"Are you a boy?" a monotonous little girl's voice asked.
Riku suddenly felt relieved when he heard her speak. "Y…yes… how did you know?" he asked.
She was silent for a few moments before she withdrew her hands from him. "Your voice and your muscles." She said.
He blinked. "Oh… I see…" he said softly, feeling stupid and sort of awkward. He wished he could see her face and see how she looks like; how tall she is and who she is…
He smiled weakly, somewhat relieved that he has a companion inside the well, "My…my name is Riku…" he said.
She was just silent.
"And you are?" he asked, wanting to hear more than that familiar yet creepy silence in the well.
Silence loomed around them for a few moments before he heard another sound. "…Samara." she said with a mysterious but soft tone… and it had some shyness and wonder in it.