Author's Notes: Short chapter. And the reaction all around the world is...!

Chapter 23

"And Then the Whole World Said…"

Saturday Morning

Leon was concerned when he didn't get an e-mail from Tidus.

He was more concerned when he tried to call them and the phone gave him a busy tone.

A deep frown creased his face and he put the phone down on the receiver.

"Are you okay?" asked the voice of Riddlez, cranked up so he could hear it from the kitchen. He walked back in and turned it down.

"No. I'm worried."

"What happened? Are those boys okay?"

"I hope so. They haven't e-mailed, haven't called…"

Leon heard shouting in the background, and Riddlez asked someone else, "Are you sure?" And they exclaimed excitedly: "Yeah!" Then there was a pause. Then Leon heard it:

"Grievers, turn on the news. I think you need to see this."

Leon frowned, but he didn't object. He grabbed the remote in the living room when he got to it and flipped on the television, switching it to CNN News from The Weather Channel.

"And just yesterday, in broad daylight, a young teenage boy grabbed a school classmate, both of them in his house, took his father's car, and drove away! We've had reports that his hands were covered in blood, and the classmate was naked, handcuffed and had a collar around his neck. The whole fiasco started when the classmate's mother called the police to report her missing son, who has been confirmed to be Sora Tilmitt, his kidnapper a one Riku Lockheart, a foster child from the Lindblum Agency…"

The report went on and on, and the more it continued, the more Leon paled and his eyes turned a dull grey under the storm.

"Shit."

Naminé nearly jumped out of her seat.

"Kairi!" she shrieked. "Kairi, come quick, yer hubby's on the CNN!"

"Sora?" Kairi quickly rushed into the room, leaning over the couch. But she wasn't so excited when she heard the story.

"…A very problematic child, so say several of the local residences. Riku forced Sora into his foster father's car and the foster himself, Ansem Atercor, was found severely assaulted in his basement, which was, as the authorities reported, 'Clearly a center for sado-masochistic sexual activity'. The blood of Riku, Ansem, and Sora was found in the basement…"

Naminé couldn't believe what she was hearing or seeing as the news flashed photos of Riku, Sora, and Ansem Atercor, and showed camera pans of the basement and shots of Ansem being lifted into an ambulance. Kairi's hands flew to her mouth, and her heart skipped six beats.

"Good God Almighty," she breathed.

"My goodness gracious!" Naminé looked over the couch. "I hope they find him…"

Kairi was too dumbstruck to respond. She could only pray for Sora's safety as she watched, too far away to help.

Edea had been stunned since yesterday. She now watched the news channel in horror, and felt the guilt come crashing down.

Tidus passed her by, saw the news flash, and looked at her. For once, he allowed himself some disrespectful cynicality, so strong still was his anger.

"I would say I told you so, but I guess your conscience did that for me."

Cloud's eyes were glued to the screen, along with twenty other pairs, plus Sephiroth's, whose arm was around his waist. They were all surrounding the sixty-two-inch plasma-screen TV in the main floor living room where all the video games were, watching as the story unfolded before them, condensed into five minutes.

"…And Ansem is planning to sue Riku for assault once the authorities have located him. There may be clear indications that Ansem was a pedophile, as it appears his horrific basement is decorated for the purpose of having numerous sex games with Riku, whom he'd been fostering for the past four years…"

Sephiroth scoffed. "What a bunch of bull," he growled. "The news will turn anything into a story and spin it until you can't tell fact from fiction." Cloud leered at him, but said nothing.

"I think that's one sick son of a bitch," Seifer commented. Fuujin's eyes narrowed.

"TERRIBLE."

"That's just gross, man, ya know!" Raijin clicked his tongue. "I don't blame the poor kid, ya know?"

"Poor Riku!" cried Zell. He turned around. "Cloud, do you think we could take them in?"

Cloud shook his head. "We wouldn't even know where to find them, Zell. But I hope that they're doing better than they were in that house." He bit on a thumbnail, eyes on the screen.

That poor kid…

Riku looked up at the television screen hanging down from the ceiling of the thrift shop as he paid for clothes with money he'd stolen out of the pocket of some prostitute, his eyes shaded by a baseball hat which he tucked his hair under. He wore a school jacket over his body to hide himself better as he took the plastic bag of clothes mechanically.

"…Citizens are warned to be on the lookout for a brick-red two-thousand-and-two Honda Civic Sedan, the car that Riku stole from Ansem's driveway when he kidnapped Sora and ran."

The cashier looked at him. She was a lady with a nose ring and three piercings in each ear with her hair done up in wild multiple pigtails.

"That you, sweetheart?"

Riku glared at her. She patted his hand.

"My lips are sealed," she murmured, "Now go on and get while you still have your chance. I can't say the same for my customers."

Riku stared at her in silence for a while as she gestured for him to leave.

"…Thank you."

He turned and left the store, and he pushed the bag into Sora's naked lap when he got in the driver's seat. Sora stared at him with dulled, angry eyes. His hands weren't cuffed anymore, and the collar was gone, but Sora didn't dare leave the car. He knew he wouldn't have a clue where the fuck he was going.

Riku turned the key in the ignition, and pulled out of the parking space. As they drove away at fifty miles an hour on the freeway, he said to Sora,

"We're wanted."

Sora hung his head and hugged the bag of clothes, swallowing hard. He remained silent, and stared at the still-full gas gauge in front of the steering wheel. They had a long way to go before empty.

Author's Notes: My favorite part is how I strung together all the parts of the news flash for each group.