Riku felt the bitter salt spray on his lips. His silvery hair moved softly in the warm flow of the water. He opened his eyes and looked around,
'What happened?' he groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head. He stood up and brushed the wet sand off himself and washed his hands in the foam,
'…Strange. Where the hell did that storm get to so fast?' he said noting he was still on Destiny Island,
'Better go see how the others fared the tempest' he said and walked off towards the huts he and the other guys had built when they where younger.
'Oh…man…' he whispered as he came over the hill that lead to the huts. They were a mess. The huts were strewn across the clearing like a thick blanket of devilish ruins, Tidus and the others, their once fashionable clothes torn and soiled by wind, water and mud were walking like zombies, collecting bits of the wreckage and cleaning everything up. Their faces showed visible strains of weariness and quite a few of them boasted big black bruises were they had been hit by flying debris,
'Hey guys' Riku greeted them as he walked up,' need some help?' he asked and went to pick up some rubbish. They ignored him and continued with their work, 'Guys?' they didn't even look at him,
'Okay guys, I know I've been a bit anti lately but I don't need to be ignored!' Riku fumed. Nothing. Not even a twitch of their ears,
'Hello?' he said as he waved a lone hand past the boy's eyes. Tidus didn't even look at him,
'Oi Prick!' Riku roared at Tidus in desperate anger, expecting a response Riku stood firm in front of Tidus, instead he walked right through the teenager as if he were a whisp of smoke,
'…what…' Riku's jaw fell, '…the hell?'
Just a bit off the centre of Destiny Island was a small pool of crystal clear water. A small fall trickled down the rock face of the cliffs above and fed the pond. With his feet in the water and his head in his hands Riku's eyes burned as furious tears embarrassingly formed in his eyes. So many things flashed through his mind, why couldn't they see him? And most importantly: How had Tidus walked right through him. A thought crossed his mind,
'Am… am I dead?' he whispered,
'No' a voice, deep and husky forced him to look up with his eyes. His gaze fell upon a hooded man walking across the water,
'You are not dead fool. Do you still understand nothing?' the man asked with a gesture of his hand, pale and smooth,
'Wh… who are you?' Riku asked as his lower lip stopped quivering. The man laughed,
'I am… …who I am and that is all you need to know of me. What you do need to know however is how to use the powers beheld to you my boy'
'What powers?' Riku asked and drew his feet from the water so to back away on his hands and knees as the man got closer,
'You don't remember do you?'
Sora and Kairi had been rowing for hours and frankly, it was getting a little boring, if not frustrating,
'When the hell are you going to get somewhere?' Sora grumbled anxiously at no one in particular. It was true, even in a boat they were not making much progress, although at least now the bottle seemed to be getting closer. Also, finally the sun was beginning to set and before very long the two were bombarded with almost utter darkness and a strong cold breeze.
A huge bluish-white moon sat high in the sky watching down on them. Kairi lay trying to sleep, shivering and going blue by the minute. Sora was watching her wondering what to do. Suddenly her warm voice pierced the night,
'Why did you leave me?'
'What?' Sora asked moving towards her troubled frame,
'Why did you leave?' she repeated,
'But I'm right here Kairi! I didn't leave' Sora said and sat close next to her,
'She said you were swallowed by a storm…'
'Huh? …Kairi?'
She began to breathe quickly and shortly as if she was having an asthma attack,
'Calm down Kairi!' he whispered soothingly to her as her breathing got louder,
'Feel the water rock the boat Kai… Feel it, breathe it!' soon she began to slow and calm right down, and before she fell deep into sleep, her head resting on Sora's chest she muttered a single word that seemed strange coming from her…
'…father…'
