"Hey Namine-" Riku yawned as he stepped in through their connecting door. "-Cid said there was a free breakfast so I figured we should get one before...Namine?"

He paused and scanned the room. Namine's cloak was folded on the dresser. She wasn't there, nor was her sketchbook. Yet her sandals lied beside the bed.
"Namine?" Riku shouted.
"Out here!"

Riku darted to the window and had a moment of panic. Namine was in the ally, sitting in the curb with her feet in the water. Her sketchbook was on her lap, and a small Shadow Heartless was watching her curiously. That was what she was trying to draw, the Shadow.

Riku almost jumped to help her as it jumper into her lap. Realization hit him as he started to climb out-the Heartless couldn't hurt a Nobody, lacking a Heart.

Namine laughed as the Shadow jumped up and curled up against her.
"Hi there!" She smiled, petting its head. It perked up, head butting her slightly and turning it's head so she would scratch his neck.
"Don't you get to the point?" Namine laughed as she scratched it's chin and the Heartless curled up in her lap. "Wonder if Diz would let me keep you..."

Naturally it was after Riku climbed back into the room when he spotted the red dot appearing on Namine's shoulder. He wouldn't have been alarmed if a triangle hadn't joined it.

He scanned the nearby rooftops as he climbed back out of the window. It took a moment, but he spotted a cloaked figure with some sort of weapon-in line with the target on Namine's back. Not faltering for a moment, Riku jumped and landed behind her as a sound-probably the shot-resonated in the ally.
"Dark Fira!

Namine flipped around as she sensed Riku's darkness flicker. He was facing the other way, having fallen to one knee as he pulled a needle from his shoulder.

"Just a tranquilizer!" A voice resonated as Namine stood up, holding her sketchpad as the Shadow climbed onto her shoulder.
"Who's there?
"Don't remember? Now Namine-who could erase /your/ memories?"

A portal formed and Xigbar stepped out as Riku tried to stand. Namine gasped.
"Riku-you can't take him like this! He's number Two in the Organization!"
"And my orders are just take Namine back." Xigbar added, "So if you just let me do my job boy, you might live. So listen to Blondie."
"No can do." Riku stated, managing to summon Soul Eater, "She's helping a friend of mine."

Namine raised an eyebrow as Riku's Dark Energy levels began to increase. It was because of Xigbar's startled reaction.
"Hey-you're like him..."

However the moment passed when Riku's energy vanished and he passed out. Xigbar wiped his forehead.
"Well that was almost bad..." He faced Namine. "Come along, little girl."
"No!" Namine shouted, clutching her sketch pad. "I have to fix Sora!"
"Fix-" Xigbar began to laugh. "Good luck with that!"
"Wha-what do you mean?" Namine began to glare. "What do you know?"
"Quite a bit. Enough to know Marluxia's mistake was grabbing you while you were conscious." Xigbar began to load another tranquilizer. "But you are coming back with me."

Namine noticed the outline of a shadow forming and grabbed Riku's arm to drag him out of the way. Xigbar raised an eyebrow.
"Running? He's dead w-"
"Get the f- outta town you a-hole!"

Xigbar shut up and jumped back as Cid landed, his javelin landing where he'd been standing with enough force to leave a small crater.
"Well that ain't good." Xigbar hissed, jumping to the side as a shot flew past him.

"I don't think the girl wants to join you."
"Who'd wanna, a creepy old guy like him?"

Namine turned to where a man with long brown held out a sword with a gun handle for a hilt was standing. Running after him was a younger girl, scantily clad, wielding a giant shuriken. Behind them was a woman with a long brown braid dressed in pink.
"Well, shit." Xigbar shrugged. "So much for avoiding exposure." He glanced at Namine. "I'll get you yet girl, and your little heartless too!"

As he vanished the scantily clad girl laughed.
"Well you sure scared him off Squall!"
"It's Leon!" The brown haired man snapped as the woman approached Namine.
"Why isn't it attacking you?"
"Huh?" She blinked.
"The Heartless." Aerith pointed at the Shadow now sitting on Namine's head. Namine paused, unsure how to answer.
"Well-ah!"

Yuffie's scream spared her as Cid turned to where the Ninja was against the wall, about a foot from Riku.
"What in f-ing tarnation is wrong now?"
"He-it-Remnant!"
"Remnant?" Leon replied as Aerith approached.

"What's a remnant?" Namine asked as Cid lit up. The older man sighed before answering.
"Remnants of Sephiroth. Sephiroth was a man from Yuffie, Aerith, and my home world before space and time broke. He was a Hero once-until he found out how he was made. F-ing Shin-Ra." Cid exhaled a puff of smoke. "How he was made?" Namine tilted her head.
"F-ing experiments. His DNA was fused with that of this Alien b- named Jenova. It made him super fast, super strong, f-ing super human. Your friend show any of those traits?"
"Ah..." Namine glanced at Riku. He was quick and powerful-but superhuman? "He can't be." Namine stated. "Until it vanished, he'd lived on Destiny Islands his whole life."
"Fair enough. We did f-ing kill him. He didn't stay dead at first. Remnants were half a-ed clones-they needed Jenova cells to evolve into Sephiroth."
"Evolve?"
"More like Transform. But Cloud defeated him again before the Heartless showed up and f-ed everything up. Like f-ing time. People came out from all over the time line."
"Aerith was dead to back then." Yuffie pointed out. Namine glanced at the woman in the pink dress. Does that mean she's undead? The thought scared her.
"So?"
"Some of the worlds-fabric of space and time were torn to nothing. Dead people were alive and unstabbed. Older people were younger. It's been a rough almost decade. Furthermore a lot of our original worlds are too far gone to save." Leon seemed for a moment to darken as he said this. "The people scattered." Yuffie folded her arms.
"But Sephiroth came back when Aerith did-alive and kicking. Cloud's fought him a few times.
"But Riku is-"
"Before you say anything, remember he betrayed his own friend." Leon rose his voice now.
"That was because-"

"He's not a remnant." Aerith stood up and all their attention was on her. "But he does have Jenova cells as part of his molecular structure."
"That's it!" Yuffie grabbed Leon's Gunblade, catching him off guard. "Kill it till it's dead!"
"No!" Namine leaped up and stood between them. "Stop! He's my friend!"
"Before he went mad, Sephiroth had a lot of friends! After, he stabbed most of them-repeatedly!"
"I won't stand by and watch you stab him!"

It was odd, for Namine was afraid of her words. But she'd been the one to drag out Riku, and while he couldn't defend himself she would. Yuffie charged, Aerith and Leon shouted. Namine held her arms in front and shut her eyes.
"I said Stop!"