Author's note: That's right! I decided to post up another chapter before Easter! Why, you ask? Most of our plans for today were cancelled, so I had some extra time on my hands. Yay!

Adventure of Dreams

Chap. 8 Sticky Situation

When they reached the main hallway, they could hear screams coming from the center room.

"That sounds like them!" Oneida knew, "They must be in trouble!"

All of them ran to the room and saw Aerith, Leon, and Yuffie being held by an octopus heartless and struggling to get free.

"Attack!" Goofy and Donald shouted.

They all ran toward the creature, preparing for battle, but they soon found themselves stuck in its slime. (A/N: Which is why I called the chapter what I did) They couldn't move.

"Just great!" Kairi exclaimed.

"I guess we'll just try our best…" Sora smiled sarcastically.

The heartless swung its tentacles at them. They barely avoided them while trying to fight at the same time.

One swung at Riku, who ducked just in time.

He thought to himself, …I just have to wait for the right moment.

Just then, the tentacle came at him again. This time, Riku was able to attack. The heartless shrieked in pain, releasing Yuffie, Leon, and Aerith.

Then, its glaring yellow eyes looked in anger at Riku. It attacked again, but as before, Riku fought back. The octopus furious and knocked the sword from Riku's hand. It grabbed Riku, wrapping its tentacle around him, its grip firm and tight.

"Riku!" Sora shouted.

Riku cried, "Let go of me, you freak!"

It squeezed harder, and Riku couldn't move. He struggled with all his might, but all of his efforts were futile. The heartless' hold on him tightened every second, and he could hardly breathe.

The others kept fighting, but the octopus wouldn't let go. Sora, Goofy, and Donald tried using some of their magic attacks, but that didn't work either. Soon, Riku was screaming in pain.

"We have to help him!" Kairi told them.

"We've tried everything!" reminded Goofy.

"Not yet!" Aerus lifted his sword in the air. Suddenly it was surrounded by a blue glow, and it began to grow…longer and longer. He swung in the tentacle's direction and cut it off. Riku fell to the ground.

The heartless cried in agony, and then everyone worked together to destroy it. It disappeared, slime and all.

Kairi and Sora ran to Riku, loosening the tentacle that had kept its grip, setting him free from the entanglement. He wasn't moving, his eyes closed and his breathing deceased.

"Riku, are you okay?" asked Kairi.

Nothing happened.

"Riku!" Sora shook him, "…Riku!"

Riku suddenly opened his eyes, breathing heavily and coughing. He slowly got up, regaining his composure.

"Do you think you'll be alright?" Kairi wondered.

"Yeah…I'll be fine…" Riku stood up, and then began to pace back and forward, trying to gain his strength back.

Sora turned to Aerus, "How'd you learn to do that?"

"Well," he answered, "Leon's taught me everything I know."

"I'm so glad we found you three!" Oneida was relieved, "You need to come back home with us!"

"What's the problem?" Yuffie asked.

Aerus replied, "I think we should tell you on the way there…"

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They reached the asteroid, and on the way they had talked about the energy shortage.

When they landed, Oneida asked, "So?...Where is the energy supply?"

"……Underground," Leon stated obviously.

"I should've known that!"

"But…how are we going to dig it up?" pondered Aerus.

"Remember that one present I gave you? Leon asked him.

"Yeah…It's in our shed. I've never used it."

"Why?"

"I never knew what it did…But, now I think I do. It's a digging tool, isn't it?"

"Yep."

"I think Yuffie and I will stay here with Leon until we get this whole thing figured out," Aerith said.

"That would be great, sis!" Oneida gave her a hug, "I'm so glad you're back!"

"Well, it was nice to see you guys again after all these years," Yuffie told Sora, "Too bad you have to leave so soon."

"Yeah," he answered, "But, you know what we have to do."

Author's note: Well, right at this moment I don't think I'll be able to post up any more until sometime next week, unfortunately. But, if you do get bored, you should read my Kingdom Hearts one-shot story called The Promise. I don't think many have read it yet because I've only had one review. So, if you have time, you should definitely check it out. Just click on my name (Anime-17) above to find it. Enjoy!