Hollow Bastion

Bedroom

Yuffie POV

Night 1

The hallway was long and dark, there was a haunting chill that ran along the sides of the walls. Said chill, creeping across my neck. I walked slowly, afraid to make too much noise in doing so. Ever so often, I looked over my shoulder, to make sure I wasn't being followed. I had this strange feeling, that if I wasn't quiet, then I may never see the light of day again, always to be trapped, walking, in this lonely hallway.

Suddenly, I saw a light at the end, burning dully, against the darkened wood of the walls. Upon seeing the light, I quickened my pace, as quietly as possible. Desparate to rid myself of the burning pain in my heart, from being enclosed by the thing I fear the most...DARKNESS.

As I grew nearer to the shimmering light, I noticed that the light was seeping out of a door, at the end of the wallway. I could hear faint voices, talking, on the other side of the cherry, red door. The voices sounded unfamiliar, but the conversation, in which they were having, drew my attention.

" Why are we calling upon it now? Why don't we just wait untill we get the girl and Deliverance?" A voice that was deep, but soft, asked.

" I've already told you! If we call upon it now, then by the time we get the girl, it will be too late to save her! And then her friends will either have to give me Deliverance or watch their friend die, a slow and painful death." Said a voice, with a cross of impatience and amusement in the sentence. The voice sounded female, by the gentleness that was hidden behide the words.

After that last sentence, the room fell silent. I could hear the faint and steady breaths, comming from the figures. Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps, thumping on the stone floors, of the room that they occupied. Followed by:

" Don't worry so much! I got it all worked out, okay?"

The silence from before fell again, untill I was sure I was the only living being in the whole castle. I was about to enter the room, in which I heard the coversation from before, but stopped, as I felt a tugging in the back of my skull. Dizziness soon took me over, as I sucumbed to it. I started to jerk. Then, like lightning, my eyes snapped open.

I looked around, at my surrounding, and was relieved to find, that I was in my room, safely tucked away in the maroon blankets, that rested, crumpled, on my bed. Even though I was relieved, I still breathed heavily, as the happenings of the dream, came back to question me.

Who were those two figures? What did they mean when they said 'call upon it'? What were they plannig on doing to this 'girl and her friends'? And Deliverance? What role did this 'Deliverance' have in their plans?

" Come on, Yuffie! Get ahold of yourself! It was just a dream, afterall. CALM DOWN!" I whispered, softly, to myself. And even though I kept telling myself, that it was just a dream and that I shouldn't get so worked up over this, I couldn't help, but feel this sense of dread, deep within me. And that scared me because I don't easily get scared. The last time, that I got really scared, was the night that the Heartless took over Hollow Bastion, but how could a dream compare to that?

I dismissed all my thought, as they were giving me a headache. Deciding that I should go get some nourishment, maybe that could help settle my throbbing mind.

Slowly, I stood up and grabbed my fluffy, yellow robe, that hung over the headboard of my bed. Walking over to my beside table, to retrieve a candle, I stole a quick glance at the clock, that sat on the table, on the north side of the room. The numbers, that pierced the eerie, darkness of the room, stated that it was 12:10 AM.

After lighting the candle, I hurried to the door, that lead out into the hallway, of the 2nd level of the Hollow Bastion Castle. Shutting the door behind me, I made my way down the hall. After walking a few steps,however, I felt the same feeling from the dream flood through me, once more. I sensed that dread, of being alone in a cold, deserted hallway. That feeling of being watched, bore holes through my body, as I peered at the unwelcoming shadows of the hall.

As I was thinking about turning back, I stopped as I heard a muffled voice, comming from somewhere down the hallway. Hesitantly, I perceeded down the hall, searching for the source of the noise. Relief flooded through me, as I learned that the noise was, in fact, Cid's snoring, comming from behind his door.

I continued down the hallway, then made my descent down the spiral staircase, that lead to the first level of the castle. Once there, I headed into the dining room, but upon entering I discovered that I wasn't the only one there.

I stood, framed to the doorway, the light from my candle bouncing of the walls, casting shadows all around me, as I tried to identify the person, who was sitting in one of the wooden chairs, that was pulled up to the circular table of the dining room.

" Yuffie? Is that you?" Came an all-to-familiar voice. Even though the voice was full of weariness, I knew that it was Squall Leonhart. Or, as he puts it, Leon.

After I let out a sigh of releif, that I had been holding, from the moment I steped into the dining room, I said, in my loud,perky voice:

" Of course it's me." I paused for a second, setting my candle on the table, then asked, more seriously," What are you doing up, this late at night, Squall?"

" Yuffie, how many times do I have to tell you? My name is LEON! And for, 'what am I doing up, this late at night', it's none of your business!" Squall said in frustration and disgust.

I stared at him for some time, debating if I should ask, why he refuses to be called by his real name. Knowing that this was going to turn into a brawl, I continued on, despite the fact that I knew this was going to get brutal.

" Why do you hate being called by the name your mother gave you? I'm sure she would be disappointed, knowing that her only son, is repaying her, for her sacrifice, by hiding under some fake name." I stated, as calmly as I could.

I knew I was digging around in his personal emotions, but friends are suppose to trust and confide in each other. Aren't they? I mean, I've told him a huge quantity of personal feelings, thoughts, and memories, that I have.

He seemed shocked, by the way his eyes widened. I could tell he was angry and, at the same time, upset. We all got clammy when we were reminded about the past. Especialy, Squall and me, because unlike Aierth and Cloud, who had eachother and their unborn child, and Cid, who had his daughter, we had no family left. All we had was our friends and our disturbing memories and nightmares. I know that Aierth, Cloud, Cid, and Stephanie have nightmares too, but not as emotional as ours.

Breaking the silence, I added:

" I understand why you changed your name. I hate being reminded of the past too, but you have to except it. It happened and there's nothing we can do, to go back and change time. We have to learn to live with it. And I'm willing to help you because you and me have it the hardest. We don't have any family left, like the others do. Squall, I'm asking you to try and let go. You can't keep sulking around, believing that if you did something different, then they would still by alive. Please, I'm asking you as a friend, let me help you with your depression. Please?" There was a pleading tone in my voice. I had to break through that barrier he had around him, and if the only way to do that was to bring up the past, then I would do it.

There was another reason why I wanted to see him happy again. To see that spark in his eyes, that was there before the Heartless took over Hollow Bastion. It is because I have strong feelings for him. Maybe love? I'm still trying to identify the feeling myself, that's one of the reasons I haven't told anyone yet, not even Stephanie, and she's my best friend. I guess, you could say that I'm also fearing that he might just think of me as, the annoying 18-year-old, that doesn't act her age.

As I was lost in thought, I didn't notice that Squall had gotten out of his chair and was standing a few feet away from me. I looked up as he said:

" Yuffie, it's not that easy, especialy when you have nightmares every night, reminding you of how much you lost. And comming back to the place where you lost it, doesn't help."

" I didn't say that it was going to be easy, in fact, it's going to be extremely hard, but I want to help you. Will you let me try?" I asked, hoping the answer was yes.

There was a pause, where all fell silent except for the crickets, that chirped, to the beat, of an unseen band.

" You can try, but I'm not promising that it will work." He said with the air of disbelief, breaking the silence as he did so.

I squealed and jumped up, bringing my arms around his neck, to embrace him in a tight hug. I didn't care that he doubted it would work, all I cared about was, the fact, that he said he would let me try. And to my surprise, he didn't push me off, but actually, returned the hug.

The moment seemed to last forever, untill I pulled away, for it was getting late and I was growing tired.

" Thank you! I'll do my best!" I stated, beaming from ear to ear, with one of my trade-mark grins, before a yawn stole my lips.

" It's late, you should be getting to bed, or tommorrow at practice, you won't be able to even stand." Squall said, with a small laugh, as I yawned again.

After nodding, I turned towards the door, and perceeded to exit, when I stopped abruptly. I felt this unknown force turn me around and make me walk up to Squall, once more, who gave me a bewildered glare.

I slowly reached into the pocket of my robe. When I lifted my hand from the clothing, I discovered that it was clenched around my good luck gem. It was small and the dark blue coloring seemed black in the poor lighting, of the room. It baffled me because I didn't remember putting it in the robe, to begin with.

My left hand jumped into life, as it grasped Squall's right hand and held it open, while my right hand placed the small gem in his palm, then they dropped to my sides, lifeless once more.

Squall looked from it, then to me, and back to the gem. He shook his head before saying:

" Yuffie, I can't take this. Your parents gave it to you and made you promise to never let it out of your sight. I can't let you break your prom..." I cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

" They would understand." I said, in a voice, that sounded unfamiliar to me. It was deeper and it lacked that energy, that rested in my throat.

There was a pause, before the foreign voice, that controled mine, spoke, in an urgency, that wasn't there before.

" Squall, promise me, that no matter what happens, you will keep my gem hidden, and that you won't let anyone know you have it?"

" Yuffie, I..." Squall began, but was unable to complete his sentence, as I cut him off, for the second time tonight.

" PROMISE ME!" I nearly screamed.

He stared at me, looking as though, he was trying to come up with a suitable answer, while I waited patiently, not blinking.

" I promise, Yuffie, that I won't let anyone know I have it." He said, honestly.

I turned towards the door and walked to it. Once I was at the doorframe, I paused and then added:

" Mind over heart. Remember that."

Leaving before I heard his answer, I headed back to my room, stumbling often, for my candle was still in the dining room. I entered my room, shutting the door behind me, and threw myself onto the bed, not bothering with my robe.

What just happened? That wasn't me speaking! And if it wasn't me, then who was speaking? And that was my good luck gem! Why would I give it away? Did it have anything to do with my dream?

Question upon question filled my brain, all of which, I had no answer. Untill, finally, sleep over took me and lead me into another restless night.

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Hollow Bastion

Dinning Room

Squall POV

Night 1

The gem seemed like it was glowing, as I turned it over in my hand, admiring every groove on its dark blue surface. As I took in every angle, I couldn't help, but feel, this evil aura comming from its insides. How could something so beautiful, feel so, wrong?

That question didn't only apply to the gem, but also to Yuffie.

After the Heartless attacked, I closed myself off from the people I had left. I regret that it took me this long, to figure out that, she has grown into a beautiful and intelligent woman, right before my eyes. She's not the little girl, I once knew.

When Yuffie is around, I feel a piece of my heart heal and cover the painful scars left behind. The need to tell her that has been growing, every day, untill it is going to consume me, but I can't tell her the truth because when I'm with her, like tonight, it somehow feels wrong. Our age difference keeps my mouth under control.

Speaking of tonight, what was wrong with Yuffie? One second, she's energetic and hugging me, the next second, she's giving me her parent's gem and screaming at me, to promise that I won't let anyone know I have it. And the most disturbing thing, about this whole ordeal, was that when she was screaming at me, it didn't sound like her. It was as though, someone else was speaking through her.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, I grapped the candle, Yuffie left, and trudged back to my room, which lay on the 3rd level.

As I passed Yuffie's room, I heard moaning, and what sounded like, tossing.

" Yuffie, please, for us, be alright. Without you, this castle will lose it's glow. We need you to be alright." I whispered, more to myself, before continuing on my way.

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Holow Bastion

Hallway

Night 1

The hallway was deserted when the cloaked figure emerged from the shadows. He laughed, in amusement, because, unknown to the two warriors, he had been listening from start to finish.