I am alive and so is this story! I am SO sorry for the long wait! I was so focus on my other stories that I lost the motivation to continue writing this one. But good new, I am back in action! I thank you all for waiting patiently for a new chapter, and here it is! I hope you like this chapter, let us begin!

Chapter 8

After an hour of treating the wounded, Jason managed to successfully seal up the wounds left by the settlers. When he finished washing his hands, he walked up to Powhatan and said "They should be fine for now so long as they avoid heavy lifting and wait for their wounds to heal up for around a week or two."

Powhatan nodded and said "I thank you from the bottom of my heart that you helped my people. But if I may ask, who are you strangers?"

Kairi then said "Let's just say we travel from a land far away. But we mean it when we said we are here to help."

"So…" Ven said, "Can you tell us what happened?"

Powhatan replied "We were told of the white men coming into our land by my shaman. So I sent a few brave men to observe them. Kokum, one of my finest warriors, told me that the white men attacked and injured a few of them."

"Hmmm," Jason said as he thought to himself, "So you all merely acted as scouts and just observed but the settlers just attacked you. From my experience, they must have assumed you were there to ambush them. Though I don't blame you for scouting."

Powhatan then said "We need to know more about these white men. But for now, we have to stay our distance from them."

"Leave that to us," Jason said, "In the meantime, if your people need any assistance, we are more than happy to help."

As Powhatan bowed his head in approval, the three Keyblade Wielders headed to the village. Once they were gone, the old shaman named Kekata walked next to him and said "They are a bunch of strangers, but their hearts are in the right place."

Powhatan looked at him and asked "What can you tell me about those three?"

Kekata replied "The girl is full of light, but her heart is full of sadness and suffering. The young boy is as free as the wind and as wild as a wolf. But the other young man…he has seen vicious battles in his life, causing his heart to harden and shows no mercy. However, he will still lend a hand to those in need."

Powhatan nodded and replied "That is good to know. Maybe they will help us drive out the white men from our land."

Meanwhile, Kairi, Ven and Kairi were walking around the camp until Kairi said "So what is the plan?"

Jason replied "For now, help around."

When Kairi and Ven nodded, Kairi's Gummi Phone started to go off. Curious on who is calling her, Kairi got her Gummi Phone, answered it and showed that it was Riku on the other end. She smiled and said "Hey Riku!"

"Hey Kairi," Riku said, "Where is Jason? I tried to call him, but he wasn't answering his Gummi Phone."

As the three of them dstood silent as Kairi and Ven turned to Jason, he reached for his Pipboy and took out his Gummi Phone and said "Oh hey, he did call me a few times. Also sent me some…'colorful' messages. Is that a poop symbol?"

"Damn it!" Riku shouted, "Jason, keep you phone outside your Pipboy!"

"Riku," Kairi said, "Calm down. Now, do you have anything?"

Riku calmed down and said "Right. Turns out, Jason is right. The guy in charge told us that it was an ambushed and started to attack them. They manage to scare them off, right now, we are helping out by setting up defenses."

"Hmmm," Jason said, "I don't know. From what the natives told us, they were just scouting out what the settlers were doing and were then attacked. They weren't even going to ambush them."

"Well that complicates things," Riku said.

"It doesn't complicate thing," Jason said, "Just that there was a slight misunderstanding on someone's end. Mostly on your guys' end."

"So what do we do?" Riku said, "Try to make both groups form some sort of peace?"

Everyone thought about it and Jason said "I mean, it couldn't hurt. All we need is to earn the trust of both sides and somehow bring them together."

Riku huffed and said "Easier said than done. The guy in charge on our end is so full of himself. He's convinced that there is gold here and won't leave until it's his."

"Wow," Ven said, "So he's one of those guys."

"Yeah," Riku said, "But so far, most of the men here are slowly trusting us. The tips worked, by the way."

Jason smirked and said "Told you!"

"What about you end?" Riku said, "Made any progress?"

"Yeah!" Kairi said, "Jason treated some of the wounded that were injured. That's a good start for us!"

"Good," Riku said, "We'll keep helping around here. And Jason, for the love of god, keep your Gummi Phone out at all times."

Jason rolled his eyes and said "Sheesh, I will."

"Alright then," Riku said, "I'll let you guys go then, stay safe."

After that, Riku hung up. When Kairi put her Gummi Phone away, Ven said "Whelp, I'll go and see if anyone needs some help!"

As he took off, Kairi looked at Jason and said "Come on, Jason. Let's see what we can do."

Jason nodded as the two of them walked around the camp to help anyone in need.

After Riku ended his call with Kairi and the rest, he made his way to the others as they were helping out the men making defenses, setting up tents to rest in and, for some reason, digging for gold. Well, mostly Donald on his end. After walking around, Riku joined up with Mickey and Aqua as they were in a secluded area.

Once they were alone, Riku said "So, I just got off the phone with Kairi and the others. Apparently, the Indians were just observing them and were attacked by the settlers."

Aqua raised an eyebrow and asked "What? You think these men were lying?"

"Or it could have been a misunderstanding," Mickey said out loud.

"That is what Jason thought as well," Riku said, "Maybe everyone here thought it was an ambush and just started to attack them. Or the Indians really did ambush them. It's hard to tell without being there to see who attacked first."

Aqua then said "I agree, all we have is the word of a man obsessed with gold. At least the men who are following him are good people…most of them anyways."

"At any case," Mickey said, "We should keep a look out for those Heartless. Someone in this world is controlling them, problem is we don't know who."

Just then, Lea joined them and said "I can give you guys three guesses, but you will need one."

They looked at him and Riku said "You think it's Ratcliffe?"

"Who else could it be?" Lea said.

"I dunno," Riku said, "Sure he is greedy and selfish, but he was a bit confused when we mentioned the Heartless. And I don't smell any darkness in him."

"Oh come on," Lea said, "It's painfully obvious."

"I know," Aqua said, "But for all we know, it might also be the Organization."

"Maybe," Mickey said, "But we haven't seen them so far."

Lea huffed and said "Thanks to Jason on his end."

A bit curious, Aqua said "You still don't trust him?"

Lea replied "It's not that I don't trust the guy. Just that…well…the guy is a wild card. One minute, he can act like he cares, and the next, he might stab you in the back. Not that he will do that, but you get the point."

Aqua sighed and said "I know. But we have to gain his trust so he won't run off and accidently kill our friends who are still in Xehanort's control."

"Yeah…" Lea said, "No doubt they are keeping them somewhere they can't escape."

Mickey said "Then that means we will have to try hard if we have any hopes of freeing them. We can't lose hope now."

The four of them nodded as they headed back to the camp and resumed helping the settlers on the camp.

A few days later…

It has been only a few days since Jason, Kairi and Ven continued their task on gaining trust from the Indians. So far, it has been going good for them: Kairi looked after they children, Ven helped the men fish, and Jason was tasked to hunt in the woods with some of the more experienced hunters. So far, every task they are performing was slowly earning the trust of the Indians. One the day they arrived and the day was ending, they all met the chief's daughter, who was named Pocahontas. As Ven and Kairi introduced themselves to Pocahontas, Jason stood there in silence as he begins to think where he heard that name before.

Meanwhile, they had the time to communicate with the others as they informed them that they set up a wooden barricade to prevent any Indians from attacking them, set up tents and were continuing digging for gold. So far, neither group has attacked the other, which was good until one decides to launch an attack. That is why both parties were doing their best to prevent that from happening at all. However, that plan soon failed when Jason's group was informed that the chief had sent a message from another Indian tribe to send warriors so that they can launch an attack on the settlers. They tried their best to prevent them from attacking them, saying it was too dangerous, but the chief ignored their pleads as the message was sent out.

"Is he insane?!" Aqua shouted through the Gummi Phone, "Does he not understand the situation?!"

Hidden away from the Indian camp and far away, Jason sighed as he was holding his Gummi Phone and said "I guess not. We tried to warn him, hell, Kairi practically got on her knees and begged him to call off the plan, but he's not having it. His mind is set on attacking the settlers."

"So…" Riku spoke this time, "He's the one controlling the Heartless then if he is going to cause a war?"

Jason thought about it and replied "I don't think so. The way he talks and how he carries himself, those aren't the actions of a man who is set on sending innocent lives into battle. This is a man who wants to protect his people from the invaders. What about your end? How is the huge tub of lard?"

"Still obsessed about that gold," Aqua said, "I swear, he makes Scrooge look like a saint. Though, Scrooge is a good person."

Riku then said "And as far as him 'planning an attack', the only thing he has done is set up defenses and conduct patrols. Other than that, nothing."

Aqua nodded as she said "So it is up to you to prevent the chief from attacking the settlers."

When Aqua said that, Jason thought about it for a bit before he gripped his Gummi Phone and simply said "No."

Both of them were shocked by his answer as Riku shouted "What do you mean no?!"

Jason replied "I don't like this as well, but if I try to stop the chief, then all of our hard work on our end would have been for nothing. It was only a matter of time when the two groups were going to start some sort of war, surprised the Indians are the ones to start it."

"But we have to do something!" Aqua cried.

"WE can't do anything," Jason said, "Our only concern are the Heartless and the person controlling them, that is our mission. We can't get too involved in this situation, we will be caught in the crossfire."

"Not get too involved?!" Riku shouted, "What about the last world?! We stopped an alien invasion! We risked our lives there and we came out alright!"

"But this isn't an alien invasion, is it?!" Jason shouted, "You have to understand that this is delicate problem we cannot get involved in!"

"But it is our responsibility to keep the worlds safe!" Aqua cried, "To make sure the light is protected and make sure evil doesn't win!"

"That isn't how it works!" Jason yelled, "We are sticking to the mission: Find the culprit who is controlling the Heartless, eliminate them and get out of here! We are not liable for the actions of a world!"

"Are you really going to let them go through with this?!" Riku shouted.

"If you want to stop this, then by all means, warn that fatass who is in charge!" Jason shouted, "But do you know what will happen?! He will see it as a threat and he will have his men charge in at the Indian camp and kill everyone in it, that includes the elders, women and the children! If that was the case, then I will choose the death of those settlers than the innocent lives of the people living in this camp!"

When Jason explained the last part, both Riku and Aqua stood there in silence and they then realize that if they do warn Ratcliffe and the settlers of an attack on then, then Ratcliffe will launch an attack on the Indian camp, and it will result in the deaths of many innocent lives.

"It's not a perfect situation," Jason said, "But if it comes down to it, then I rather let those settlers die than the innocent lives here."

Getting over her shock, Aqua said "B…But…what can we…"

"There is nothing you guys can do," Jason said trying to comfort her, "The sooner we find the culprit, the sooner we get out of here."

"But…what about the Indians? The settlers?" Riku asked, trying to make Jason see some reason.

But Jason sighed and said "Sometimes, you have to understand…you can't save everyone. Now, if you want to warn that governor about the Indians attacking, then be my guest, but know that you will put innocent lives at risk…and it will be your fault. Now…I will say this one last time…find the culprit and take them out so that we can leave this place. Over and out."

With that, Jason ended the call and puts his Gummi Phone away. To be honest, he admires their determination to save lives and willing to put their lives on the line. But they are too good and that is their weakness. They don't know the struggles of war like he does or the act of killing a person, unlike the Heartless. He hopes that no one gets to experience that. Putting his Gummi Phone away, Jason heads back to the Indian Camp.

With Riku and the others…

"He said what?!" Lea shouted.

Away from the settlers' camp, Riku and Aqua gathered Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Lea and told them of what Jason told them.

"He wants us to just leave them?!" Lea shouted, "Whatever happened to helping them?!"

Aqua replied "He said that this is a delicate problem. If they try to stop them, then their goal to gain the Indians' trust will have been for nothing."

"Then we should warn Ratcliffe about the attack!" Donald said.

"We can't," Riku said, "If that happens, then he would just gather his men and attack the Indian camp. And there are innocent people living there, and that includes women and children."

When they heard the alternative, they just stood there in silence as Goofy said "Well, what can we do?"

Mickey replied "I…don't know. We can try to have them leave."

Donald grumbled and said "Yeah, tell them there isn't any gold here, that will get them to leave."

Aqua thought about it as she nodded and said "Yeah…that can work! They told us the reason they are here is to find gold, and since there isn't any, they have no reason to stay!"

"But the problem would be to convince Ratcliffe," Riku said.

"I am telling you guys, he is the bad guy here," Lea said, "His men work non-stop and their food is running low as he stays in his tent and do nothing."

"We'll talk to him," Aqua said, "I am sure we can convince him."

Both Aqua and Riku head to Ratcliffe's tent as they entered it. Once they entered, they saw maps everywhere, some on the table and one big one in display. Meanwhile, Ratcliffe was in distress as he looked nervous and scared.

"I'm doomed!" Ratcliffe said.

"Is…something the matter?" Aqua asked.

Ratcliffe replied "I should be walloping in riches by now! But I haven't found so much as a speck!"

"Your men are the ones digging up YOUR gold," Riku said, "And by the looks of it, there aren't any around here."

While the three of them were arguing, Percy, Ratcliffe's dog was getting comfortable as he was giving himself a treat with the toy contraption he was using until Meeko the racoon, started take the treats away. Pecry caught Meeko red-handed as the racoon started to run away while Percy barked at him and chased after him.

"Let's face the fact here," Riku said, "There is no gold here. I suggest we pack up and leave."

"I will not leave empty-handed!" Ratcliffe shouted.

"But your men are tired and they need food," Aqua said, "They need their rest."

"They'll have their rest when I find my gold!" Ratcliffe said as he looked at the map, "I know it's out there, but what am I overlooking?!"

All of a sudden, they heard groan near the entrance of the tent. They turned around and gasped in shock as they saw Wiggins, Ratcliffe's assistant, with an arrow through his head.

"Wiggins!" Aqua cried, "What happened?!"

"I…I…" Wiggins said before he took off the arrow, that was made to be wore on the head, from his head and said "I made it myself"

Both Riku and Aqua sighed in relief as Riku said "Don't do that! You scared us!"

Ratcliffe however walked to him, took the head-piece arrow from him and said "Take that, silly!"

Just then, Ratcliffe looked at the arrow, realized something and said "Of course! The Indians!"

Both Riku and Aqua were confused as Ratcliffe grabbed Wiggins by the collar of his shirt and asked "Wiggins! Why do you think those heathens attacked us?!"

Wiggins replied "Because we invaded their lands, cut down their trees and dug up their earth?"

Riku then said "And don't forget attacking them without so much as a warning."

Ignoring their answers, Ratcliffe marched towards the map and said "It's the gold! They have it! And they don't want us to take it from them!"

"What made you come to that conclusion?!" Aqua cried, "What makes you think that the Indians have the gold?!"

"Why else would they attack us?!" Ratcliffe said, "Well, I'll just have to take it by force then, won't I?!"

"You can't do that!" Riku shouted, "These are innocent people! You can't just force them to give you the gold, if it exists!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought I was under the impression you and your friends are here to help my men," Ratcliffe said.

"We are here to help," Aqua said, "But…"

"But nothing!" Ratcliffe shouted, "Either you help us or I will label you all as our enemy like those filthy savages! Now, I you excuse me, I need to talk to Smith!"

With that, Ratcliffe left the tent with Wiggins following behind him. Alone in the tent, both Aqua and Riku were both in shock at the turn of events as Aqua said "This…This can't be happening…we didn't tell him about the Indians' plan to attack them…and yet…he still wants to charge in and attack them…"

Riku then said "Now both sides want to attack each other…and since Jason doesn't want to stop the Indians…then we have to stop the settlers and get them to leave."

With Jason and the others…

In the corn field, Kairi, Pocahontas, and her friend Nakoma, with Flint, Pocahontas' hummingbird, keeping watch, were harvesting corn so that there can be food when the warriors arrive. While Nakoma was the only one picking corn from the crop, both Pocahontas and Kairi were barely getting any corn: Kairi was sad that their attempts to stop the chief from starting a war failed and Pocahontas' mind was somewhere else.

"Pocahontas?"

Hearing the voice, the three girls looked up and saw Powhatan walking towards them. The three girls stood up as the chief said "You should be inside the village."

"We'll be alright," Pocahontas said.

Nakoma then said "We're gathering food for when the warriors arrive."

Powhatan walked up to them and said "Don't go far, now's not the time to be running off."

"Yes father," Pocahontas said.

Still uneasy with their plan to attack the settlers, Kairi said "Are…you sure you want to do this? You don't have to attack them. You could…form a truce with them and not fight."

Seeing Kairi concern for the safety of his people, Powhatan smiled at her warmly and said "You truly show great concern for my people, but these white men have invaded our land and attacked us first. If they are allowed to stay anymore, then they will attack us when they have the chance."

As Kairi looked down sadly, Powhatan said "I know the thought of battle and war clouds your mind, but this must be done to ensure that our people are safe."

After he said that and Kairi slowly nodded, Powhatan said as he looked at the girls and said "You three shouldn't be out here alone. I'll send for Kokum."

Once he said that and walked away, Pocahontas sighed as Nakoma said "Alright, what's going on?"

Pocahontas turned to her and asked "What?"

Nakoma replied "You're hiding something."

Pocahontas said "I'm not hiding anything."

Kairi looked at her and said "But something is bothering you. I can tell, I always have that same look."

"See? Even she knows something is wrong," Nakoma said, "Pocahontas, you can tell me. I promise, I won't tell any—"

Just then, they heard the crops moved, and when the girls turned, they saw a man with long blonde hair, blue eyes and was wearing a blue uniform. This man was John Smith. By the looks of it, Kairi would assume that the man before them was one of the settlers.

"Why is one the settlers doing here?!" Kairi thought.

Flint saw him as the little hummingbird flew towards him with his beak at him, but John pulled out a crumpet as Flint pierced right through it. Seeing the little bird now trapped, John tossed the crumpet aside as he made his way to the girls.

As Kairi got in front of him and summoned her Keyblade, John saw her and said as he raised his hands in defense "Whoa, easy there. Hey…that thing…it looks like the ones our new friends have."

Nakoma, a bit frightened, said "It's one of them! I'm going to get—"

Before Nakoma was going to cry for help, Pocahontas rushed to her, covered her mouth as she looked at John Smith and whispered "What are you doing here?"

Both Nakoma and Kairi were shocked at they looked at Pocahontas as John replied "I had to see you again."

Once again, Kairi and Nakoma looked at both John and Pocahontas as Kairi whispered "Ok…what?"

"Pocahontas!"

Hearing the voice belonging to Kokum, Pocahontas turned to Nakoma and Kairi and said "Please don't say anything."

She quickly grabbed John's hand and said "Quickly, this way."

As she leads John out of the corn field, Kairi turned to Nakoma and said "Don't worry, I'll follow them and make sure she is okay. Just distract them, please."

With that, Kairi quickly followed John and Pocahontas to where they were going. Once they were gone, Kokum, who was followed by Jason and Ven arrived as Kokum asked "Nakoma, where is Pocahontas?"

Nakoma, quickly harvested corn and replied "I-I haven't seen her."

Kokum sighed and said "Pocahontas can't keep running off, it's dangerous out there."

"Don't worry about it," Jason said, "So long as me and Ven patrol the borders, we'll keep you guys safe."

Kokum nodded at him as he looked at Nakoma and said "Tell her that, she listens to you."

When Kokum said that and walked away, Jason walked up to Nakoma and asked "By the way, have you seen Kairi around? Last I heard, she was out here."

Nakoma replied "M-Maybe she is somewhere else out here. This place is—"

"Jason," Ven said as he kneeled down, "Footprints."

Jason looked back at Ven while Nakoma stood there in fright as he said "What you got for me?"

Ven replied as he traced around each footprint "3 sets of footprints: two female and one male, the male one was wearing boots, but not any modern ones, just a flat print. My guess? It's someone from…around here."

Hearing that, Jason looked at Nakoma and said "Nakoma, please be honest with us, who else was here?"

As Ven stood up, Nakoma sighed and said "Your friend followed Pocahontas…she was with one of the white men."

Knowing it might be one of the settlers, Jason asked "By force?"

"No!" Nakoma quickly replied, "It's like…she knew who he was. And your friend followed them to make sure she is ok."

Understanding the situation, Jason turned to Ven and said "Track them and find out where they are going. Keep an eye out and only attack if necessary."

"Got it," Ven said as he took off.

A bit worried, before Nakoma could say anything, Jason placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down and said "It's only a precaution. Pocahontas is in safe hands right now. But it's best if we keep this between us and not tell anyone about this. We don't want to cause any panic, alright?"

Understanding, Nakoma nodded as Jason said "Alright then, let me help you out since you're short one helper."

Both Jason and Nakoma started to gather corn while the others were out.

Looks like tension is rising on both sides! How are our heroes going to make it out of this one? I guess you will all have to find out next chapter! Thank you all for reading this chapter and waiting patiently for an update, but I promise to keep writing for you all. Until then, please review!