Disclaimer: The same as the previous chapters. KH and FF belong to Square-Enix. BOF belongs to Capcom.
Well, I said that I was sending in two chapters - here is Chapter 7! Enjoy!
Although Lyp was not a large town, it attracted many visitors, especially those who wanted to get off the Southern Continent. Therefore, the inn was crowded, as usual. However, Zidane managed to reserve rooms – one for himself, Sora and Ryu and another for Yuna and Nina. The boys and the girls separated when they were given their keys.
"Ah…at last!" Nina fell back on the small bed which was covered with a green quilt. She stretched her wings.
"I really need to go shopping," she sighed. "I don't know how long I'm going to be on the boat for!"
Yuna smiled and sat down on the bed.
"Are you going to go down to dinner?" Nina asked her, still lying on her bed.
"I am not really hungry, but I don't mind coming down for a bite to eat, your Highness!" Yuna said.
"What?" Nina instantly sat up. "What…..did you call me?"
Yuna gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry….it's just….." She was not sure how to say this. "….I was……in Treno not that long ago….and…..I….um……..I…..saw…some posters…."
Nina lowered her head. So…..Yuna knew. Was she going to turn them in?
"………and….Sora…..he has a key, doesn't he?"
Nina said nothing.
"…..I don't want to turn you in, Princess Nina…." Yuna said unhappily. "Really, I don't….."
Maybe Ryu was right, Nina said to herself. Maybe they should not have taken Yuna with them.
Nina told Zidane what she had heard from Yuna. Zidane understood why Nina was suspicious of Yuna, but he still disagreed.
"Just because she knows about us, it doesn't mean that she'll contact the Empire," Zidane assured Nina.
"How do you know?" Nina asked him, not convinced at all.
"Nina, not everyone is loyal to the Empire," Zidane shrugged. "You know that as well as I do."
Even Nina had to agree with this. Suveria had conquered many territories in the past, and even at this present time, many people still resented them for doing so. Whether Yuna would resent the Empire or not, she did not know. She had never asked.
"Besides, we've escaped the city, now….they're gonna look for us elsewhere, now," Zidane said. "That means…..we'll probably be hunted, wherever we are. I know that's not pleasant to think of…..but that doesn't mean that the whole world is against us."
Nina nodded, but she was still uncertain about what Yuna had said. Whether she wanted to turn them in or not, there was something that that Yuna had desired from her four new friends.
"Look, I'll talk to her," Zidane suggested. "Don't worry about it for now. Why don't you take a walk?"
Zidane went to Yuna and Nina's bedroom. Only Yuna was there. She was sitting on her bed, staring at a little photo frame that she had.
"Oh, sorry….was I disturbing you?" Zidane asked. "The door was open."
Yuna shook her head. She had not talked to Nina since that conversation. The princess had decided to leave the room, just saying, "I need to go for a walk", but Yuna knew that Nina really left because she was not sure if she could trust her.
"Are you all right?"
"Oh, I'm fine," Yuna said politely. "I'm just a little tired, after all."
"That's okay…..hey, is that a picture of your fiancé?"
The photograph was of Yuna sitting side by side with a man. This man had short blond hair. His eyes were a blue colour. The man wore a yellow jacket with a hood, blue shorts and grey trainers. He had his arm around Yuna, who had her head rested on his shoulder.
"Is that your fiancé?" Zidane asked, interested.
"Yes……that's Tidus," Yuna answered fondly. "That was the evening of our engagement."
Zidane stared at the picture with interest. He did not know Tidus very well, but just by looking at the picture, the affection that they seemed to show told him that they made a very good couple.
"So….are you gonna get married soon?"
"Hopefully…..a few days after I meet him in Luca," Yuna said enthusiastically. "It won't be much of a big wedding, though. His family will be there, but mine won't…"
"Your family won't be there? That's a pity," Zidane replied, sadly.
Yuna shrugged. "It's okay, Zidane….I don't know who my family were anyway."
"Huh?"
Yuna then told Zidane the long story of her life. Her past was a very unhappy one. She had never met her real family, and did not know where she came from. Yuna had grown up in various places – she had to move from town to town every few years or so and therefore never had the chance to develop a close relationship between each foster family she had met.
The reason for this was the Empire. For years, they had been trying to locate her, for reasons that she was afraid of telling Zidane.
"Why won't you tell me?" Zidane asked, puzzled.
"It's really difficult to explain," the girl replied. "It would be easier if I showed you, but I can't do it here. It's not safe."
"Um…okay," Zidane answered, wondering what this reason was and why Yuna could not tell him. Whatever it was, he could tell that she was not lying. There was some sort of truth and desperation in her eyes. He needed her help…..sorry, the help of the Returners, Zidane corrected himself.
Two days earlier…
"Okay, here are your quarters for the next few nights," the guard said.
Riku was led to one of the guest bedrooms in the Treno castle. The room was warmer than most of the others in the castle. There was a huge grey furry rug laid out in front of a huge fireplace, which was already set alight. At the other end of the room was a large wooden four poster bed covered with red blankets.
"She has requested that you get washed and dressed before visiting her," the guard said blankly before leaving.
Riku nodded as the guard left.
He gazed at the room around him. The fact that the Empress had given him a comfortable looking room with a huge bed did not bring him much joy. He was told by Mr Argul about his key……and that the Empire wanted him to perform a little task for them – well, Mr Argul called it 'little'. In exchange, they had promised four things – first that Sora would not be harmed in any way. Second, Sora would be released after he had done his job for the Empire. Third, the Empire leave Nina alone – the Empire were not after her and therefore, she should have nothing to do with their plans. The fourth promise…….had come to him as a complete shock. The Empire had promised to give him something which he had wanted so desperately……..
Riku was unsure why he was doing this. Helping the Empire who had attacked his hometown in Wyndia? Helping them capture his best friend? What was he thinking? On the other hand, with Sora's life on the line, and Nina's as well…..he had little choice anyway.
The bathroom was behind the door on the other side of the room. Riku was glad that the bathroom was there. He has last washed himself the day he returned to school, but he was not able to do anything like that in prison. He was insulted when Bosch told him that he stank but he understood that – he had managed to get into the castle via the sewers!
Riku grabbed the towel and went into the bathroom….
"So, finally you've arrived!" Bosch exclaimed with irritation.
"I never said that I would hurry up," a voice snarled at him.
Riku stepped out of the darkness in the corridor. It was now late at night. He had changed out of his yellow shirt and blue trousers into a black shirt with black trousers, and a black coat with silver lining which came with a hood.
"Geez…..what's the hell with the gothic gear?" Bosch asked. "Freak………oh well, at least you don't smell anymore!"
Riku ignored him. "Where do I find the Empress?" he requested.
Bosch pointed down the corridor and Riku started to walk in that direction. Bosch followed him. After a few minutes silence, Bosch spoke.
"So….from what I've heard, you yourself are from the Suverian Empire, are you not?"
Riku turned to him. "Yeah…..and?"
Bosch smiled. "You know, Suveria is a powerful country. For years, it has stood as the strongest Empire in the world, occupying many territories and being the country with the most advanced technology. Yet, it is still missing something…."
"Missing something?"
"Something very important to us…..or at least, important to the Empress Surenka…..something that she has been desperately searching for a great many years…."
"Me and Sora, right?"
"Well, partly…..but.." Bosch looked at him with a smirk. "There are others…not Keyblade Warriors, but others who are special to us….who are keys….keys that we need to find in order to fulfil our plan….. you are doing so much good for your country, boy. Remember that."
However, from what Bosch could tell, Riku did not seem to be affected by this compliment of his. The boy just remained silent. Bosch started to get annoyed.
"Well, kiddo…..aren't you happy? That you are performing such a noble cause for your tribe?"
Riku shrugged. "Do I care? I'm not interested in what the Suverian Empire wants. All I care about is completing my task in exchange for what you guys have promised me. I'm gonna quit afterwards."
Bosch nodded. "Fine by us, as long as you keep to your side of the bargain……don't forget, the safety of your friends depends on your loyalty…"
They would get a boat the next day. Zidane had organised that. Therefore, all they needed to do was wake up at seven in the morning.
Sora sat in his hotel room. There was nothing much to do until dinner. Ryu had taken the left bed, while Sora was going to sleep on the middle bed and Zidane the right bed. The blue haired boy was busy looking at his surroundings and swinging his legs on the bedside. Sora still could not figure out who Ryu was. He knew that he was imprisoned by the Empire for some strange reason, but he did not know what. Sora was also aware of Ryu's bright red eyes. Sora had never seen anybody with red eyes before….well, one thing was for certain. This child was certainly not from around this part of the world.
There were many different tribes around the world, all with their different features. There were the Worens, who were known for their cat features – Worens could have whiskers or cat ears but they always had tails. The Wyndians were known for their long white wings and their ability to fly. Additionally, there were other tribes such as the doggy-like grassrunners and the moogles, who were cute little kittens with bat wings. Sora had also heard of a civilisation of people called the Al Bhed, who were experts at machinery and had weird green eyes with swirling pupils. They were so good with machines that they were said to be more advanced than even the great Suverian Empire itself. However, there were not many Al Bhed to dominate the world with its technology.
Besides, Ryu did not seem to come from any of these tribes. He certainly was not an Al Bhed, as their funny eyes were green, not red.
"Uh…Ryu.."
Ryu turned around to look at Sora.
"Can I ask you something?"
"What?" The small boy eyed his companion with suspicion.
"Um……where are you from?"
The boy stared at the floor for a few minutes. Why was he being so quiet? Was he reluctant to tell Sora?
"You….not gonna tell me?"
The boy paused for a second, before taking a deep breath and then telling him a very definite "No."
Sora was surprised by Ryu's answer. Why was Ryu so reluctant to tell him?
"What's wrong?" Ryu asked. "Did I say anything wrong?"
"Um…..well……since we don't know where you come from, it's gonna be a little difficult to track down your family."
"Just as well then," Ryu shrugged.
"Huh? Don't you….want to see your family again?" Sora asked, shocked at the boy's words.
Ryu shook his head. Sora gave up. He could not think of a reason why Ryu would not want to be reunited with his parents. Sora would do anything in order to get the chance to see his family again. On the other hand, Sora knew that he was very close to his parents and he told them everything…..well, everything until he left them. He never told them anything now, since he was unable to communicate with them in any form whatsoever, as he did not know where they lived now. Ryu may not even get on with his family. He did not know….and did not dare ask, either.
"Ugh…."
Sora stood over the side of the boat, staring down the waves below.
"Geez…..you're not sick again, are you?" Nina called out to him.
Sora ignored her and continued to bend his head over the water.
"Oh….dear….is he like this all the time?" Yuna asked Nina, feeling sorry for Sora.
Nina nodded. "He gets sick on the trains as well." She then left to join Ryu, who was on the other side of the deck.
They had made it to the boat at the right time. Zidane had the tickets and they boarded the ship with few problems. It would take a week to reach Luca, the city settled at the bottom of the North-Western Continent. Sora wondered if he could stand a week, with the boat rocking forwards and backwards all the time.
Ryu was staring at the sky and the seagulls. He turned around to see Nina standing beside him.
"You seem fascinated by the seagulls," she laughed.
Ryu looked up at her nervously.
"Hey, it's okay, Ryu. There's nothing wrong in that," Nina smiled. She opened up her wings and floated up to the edge of the boat. "Don't worry, I won't fall." Being a Wyndian, Nina was not at all afraid of heights. In fact, she quite enjoyed gazing at views from high above, no matter where they were.
Nina continued to stare up at the sky. "Do you ever wish that you could fly as high as those birds?" she asked. "I wish I could…..and go anywhere I wanted. Just to get out of my problems."
She jumped back down to the wooden deck.
"Us Wyndians…..we don't grow wings until we reached a certain age. I certainly didn't get mine until I was ten," Nina told him thoughtfully. "I used to dream as a little girl of having the ability to fly and go anywhere in the world."
Nina started to laugh.
"Well, I partly got my wish anyway. I have my wings and I can fly……but not where I wish." She sighed. "Being a princess is a real bummer."
Ryu was not listening anymore. He was not even looking at the seagulls. Nina noticed this.
"Sorry, am I boring you?" she asked.
Ryu did not answer. Instead, he pointed to the sky. Nina looked in his direction.
Far ahead, she could just see a huge flying aircraft. It was a red colour, but Nina could tell that it was a Suverian airship. As it moved closer, she could see Suveria's symbol depicted on the side of the airship – a silver crown.
Bosch watched the vessel from the control room of the airship. Standing beside him was a young woman. She was slightly taller than Bosch. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail behind her huge pointy ears. She wore a purple jacket and purple leggings, complete with brown boots. Her purple bushy fox tail swayed behind her.
The woman looked down at the boat.
"General Bosch….are you sure that you want to attack an entire ship just for one person?" the woman asked, with a look of slight horror in her face.
"We'll only come to that method if they refuse to give the boy up," Bosch replied, grinning evilly.
The woman stared at him, not knowing how to react. She knew that what Bosch was planning was morally wrong, but he was one of the top-ranking generals in the Suverian army and she was only a captain – therefore, it was not her position to try and stop him. She walked back to the cabins, full of disgust. Bosch ignored her, and instead continued to stare at the boat on the ocean, carefully planning his methods to try and bring Sora on board the ship…
To be continued.
Okay, that was the seventh chapter! Read and review - That's why the fanfic is there! If you don't I will make an incredibly short chapter next time!
