"I still don't understand how we did anything wrong," Biggs complains. He and Wedge walk side-by-side, following the usual patrol pattern. It's not quite as extensive and buttoned-up as perhaps it should be, but honestly PSICOM isn't terribly too concerned with what happens in the city barring a massive uprising. "Thrown down into patrol duty. I mean, c'mon!"

Wedge, as usual, is calmer about the whole thing. "Considering the boss lady's mood, I'm actually pretty happy we aren't dealing with her right now. Besides, you could use the exercise after all that monitor duty."

"I'll have you know that I have a very stern fitness regimen!" Biggs protests as they turn into an alley. It stretches several yards, between the edge of PSICOM headquarters and what was once some kind of financial office. Now of course it's another military building. Not a lot of futures trading in what may as well be the apocalypse.

The alley is sparse, as most of them are as a rule. That, plus the fact that Biggs and Wedge are old hands at ceremonial guard duty, leaves the pair rather less alert than they perhaps should be. Highly stupid when there's clearly something freaky going on, but that's never stopped the pair before.

Riku, crouching just around the far corner, finds the entire situation absurd. It's an almost comical plan to begin with, only made more ridiculous by the fact that it's probably going to work. Across the alley, Telary looks ready but nervous. Of course Telary always looks "whatever emotion he's currently feeling" but nervous. It's just part of the wizard's makeup.

"We are getting overtime for this crap, right?" Biggs asks, frowning. "Because if not, I might just consider going resistance."

"Watch it!" Wedge warns his counterpart. "Man, you've gotta be more careful with what you say. Ya never know who's listening."

Despite his grousing, Riku can't help but grin. How can you beat a cue like that? With a nod to Telary, the Keyblade wielder steps into the soldiers' view.

"Whoa!" Biggs declares, jumping back and raising his weapon to point at the suddenly appearing assailant. Wedge mirrors him almost perfectly, though his gun swivels to Telary.

"Who are you two?" Wedge demands, making a threatening gesture with his rifle. "What…?"

The answer comes in the form of Riku's Keyblade, sweeping out in a fanning arc. If the soldiers had been less surprised, or generally more competent, perhaps this would have ended differently. After all, pulling a trigger isn't exactly a Herculean task. But neither of the men react in time, and a single swing knocks their weapons aside.

At this point, Biggs actually does pull his trigger. Three bullets quickly spew from the gun's barrel and into the alley wall. The sound covers up the soldier's yelp, Riku's Keyblade reversing its motion and knocking him across the face. He stumbles into Wedge, throwing off the other sergeant's attempt to get his weapon up. Telary flicks his fingers, and a small bolt of lightning crashes into the pair. They fall to the ground, writhing for a moment before ceasing all motion but breathing.

"What a fearsome army," Riku says, completely deadpan. Still frowning, he crouches down to begin removing the soldier's armor. It's surprisingly simple, and he'd been given a tutorial at the resistance base.

"Did you want that to be harder?" Telary asks as he mirrors his friend's actions.

"This whole thing is just ridiculous," the silver-haired young man continues to grumble. "I swear I thought up this exact scheme in a comic book I drew when I was six."

"You draw?" Telary asks, smiling and deliberately ignoring the point. "Wow, Riku. You are just so full of hidden talents. Drawing, the piano…"

Riku's frown turns to the wizard. "You know about that? How did…? Oh, Kairi."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Telary says, finishing his pile of armor. The soldier now wears only the underclothes. With only a minor grimace, he begins to peel that off as well. "I for one would love to hear… Oh my."

"What?" Riku asks, raising an inquisitive eyebrow as he begins attaching armored leg plates.

"It won't help you think of this as any less ridiculous, but…" The wizard sighs, shaking his head. "This guy isn't wearing any underwear."

Minutes later, Riku and Telary march side by side, headed around the side of PSICOM headquarters to the patrolmen's entrance. Inside, a man dressed in red armor with his helmet off notices them immediately upon arrival.

"Your shift is over already?" the security man asks, raising an eyebrow. He glances down at a display, frowning at the time.

Riku shrugs. "Not like there was anything to see," he says, the helmet muffling his voice enough that he only has to put the barest amount of effort into disguising it. "Besides, what's a few minutes? Has anybody ever had the balls to come skulking around here?"

The security man chuckles, leaning back in his chair. "Nah, I guess not. Still, make sure the colonel doesn't hear about this. You know she'd have your asses for breakfast."

Riku only makes a vague noise, reaching to grab the small ID chip Mid had provided them. If the little genius is as smart as he said, it should have no problem fooling the computer system. He swipes it across a scanner, which flashes green a moment later. Telary follows suit, though with a slight shake of his hand.

"See ya around," Riku says, waving as he and Telary make for the exit. The desk guy just grunts in response, going back to the game he was playing. As they walk through the door, Riku whispers to his partner. "Pathetic. This whole thing."

A long corridor leads out from security, branching off in several paths. Almost nothing is marked besides a pair of bathrooms. A cleverer security measure than Riku would have suspected a few minutes ago. Luckily, their guide should be rendezvousing any minute now.

A man walks out of a door down the hall a few yards, Riku recognizing him immediately. A tall man in the late prime of his life, dressed in a rather nondescript dark grey jumpsuit. His hair is shoulder length, curled so immaculately that it must take quite some time to get it all looking right. It's also a rather interesting color, looking either red or violet depending on how the ambient light hits it.

"This is it," Riku whispers, standing up a little straighter as the man approaches.

"Greetings," he says, his voice deep and smooth. He gives the "soldiers" a quick once-over. "Interesting to run into you again."

"We have to stop meeting like this," Telary says, unconsciously deepening his voice to match the man's.

"Third time could be the charm."

All the signals and countersigns exchange, the three men begin their walk down the hallway. The violet/red haired man, whom Rinoa called Ardyn, subtly leads the way by staying just a half-step ahead.

"I assume you know where everything is?" Riku asks, speaking under his breath.

Ardyn waits until they pass by a similarly-uniformed clerk going the other way, then replies, "That's why I'm here. Can't have you boys getting yourselves lost, hm?" After a moment, he drops back a few steps. "There's an elevator two halls down that leads to a higher, better-classified floor. You can lead from there, I'll stay back and give directions. Appearances must be kept, you know?"

Riku and Telary subtly take the lead. As they go, Riku gets the uncomfortable feeling that the man they're putting most of the hope of Bright Oasis in is checking out his ass.

KH-KH-KH

Donald Duck is not happy. Of course, that's like saying that the sky is blue. But in this particular situation, he objects to the heavy cloak he's wearing to hide his whole body. Unfortunately, with Telary not around to translate and Goofy doing all he can just to not trip over his own disguise, no one can know what the hell he's actually saying. Which might actually be a good thing, all in all.

The Disney Castle pair aren't the only ones in disguise though, Rinoa wearing a fiery red with and hiding her brown eyes with contact lenses tinted green. Sora and Leon walk about more-or-less openly, neither of them bring either known wanted criminals or anthropomorphic animals. With all his freedom, Sora is able to observe the city of Bright Oasis properly.

It's… Well, it isn't a total rathole or anything. Garbage isn't overflowing in the streets, nobody is hacking themselves to death on street corners, and the soldiers on every other street corner aren't randomly beating on people. But there's still something off about the city. The décor is so drab, devoid of any color. People walk with their heads sort of down, there isn't much chatter. There are monitors posted about the city, which according to Rinoa are the messengers for a city-wide alert system. If there's an antithesis to Radiant Garden, it's this place. The garden is, appropriately, full of life. This place seems half-dead.

And according to Rinoa, this is one of the "good-time" districts.

"A quiet night," Rinoa remarks, speaking in low tones. She throws a pleased smile Leon's way. "Not for long, though."

He doesn't reply. He hardly trusts himself to. Perhaps his suspicions are unfounded, and Cid's little espionage mission won't turn anything up. But he doubts it. So, Leon keeps his mouth shut and just goes along with the plan. It's probably the best way now that he can protect Radiant Garden from turning into a place like this.

Speaking of places, Rinoa guides the group to a two-story building. A wooden sign hangs above the door, declaring itself "7th Heaven". Apparently it's a bar, which brings to Sora's mind an image of the raging parties of Tortuga back in the Caribbean. For an odd second, he finds himself missing Jack Sparrow.

But this place is hardly as rowdy as all that. Instead, a quiet chatter of many conversations drifts out the doorway. Rinoa leads the party in, and several heads look up at the new arrivals. They look back down just as quickly, returning to their drinks or conversations. It seems this is the kind of place where people keep to themselves.

Rinoa strides up to the bar, a marble counter running along the back wall. A large, middle-aged man in a vest and dirty shirt is cleaning glasses. He watches Rinoa as she approaches, then listens as she speaks to him in tones even lower than the others' conversations. The bartender looks rather exasperated, but after a moment he moves down the bar to a small device. He picks it up and speaks a few words into the mouthpiece, then listens to whatever comes through the speaker. Still look more than a little disgruntled, he gestures to one corner with his head. A wooden staircase leads up to the second story and a single door.

Rinoa walks over to the group, a small smirk on her face. "Okay," she says, sounding pleased. "I got us an audience with the owner. He's one of our sympathizers, quietly of course. If I can convince him that this is the night to make a move against PSICOM, he'll be useful in spreading the word."

"You trust this guy?" Leon asks, frowning. "The last thing we need tonight is a turncoat selling out the whole operation."

"It's fine," Rinoa assures her ex, rolling her eyes in a way that he doesn't appreciate. "Al-Cid has no love for PSICOM, he's too much of a free spirit. You wouldn't believe how much his family paid up to avoid conscription."

"Great," Leon mutters. "Some spoiled rich kid is the guy we're putting out hope in."

"He's not that bad." The resistance leader smiles again, mischievous. "He's been my friend even before I got in the resistance business. Well, he's been very friendly."

That definitely doesn't make Leon feel any better. If Rinoa notices, she ignores it, telling the boys to take a seat and wait for her to have a quick talk with this Al-Cid guy first. Leon is reluctant to comply, but Sora manages to tug him over to an unoccupied table.

"Ya gotta calm down man," the Keybearer urges his friend. The bartender gestures towards the drinks cabinet in a silent offer, but Sora waves him off. The man frowns back, cleaning out a glass a little harder than is strictly necessary. "Save some of the fight for the dictatorship."

"I suppose I'll have to," Leon replies with bitter amusement. "I'm starting to think we won't be getting any help."

"Non-pathetic help, anyway," Donald agreeably grumbles. "Just give me a few shots of Firaga at that psycho base place, and the problem's solved!"

"Gwarsh Donald," Goofy softly remarks, shaking his head. "You get cranky when you're away from the castle, dontcha."

"And when I get involved in other people's shenanigans!" the wizard adds.

"You really wouldn't have liked traveling around the universe with the Keyblade, then," Sora jokes. "That's basically the… basically the job." By the end of his thought, the joke actually isn't very funny anymore.

"Mighta been at least a little fun, though," Goofy notes with a slight grin.

"Sora, Donald, and Goofy, huh?" the Keybearer says, trying out the idea in his mind. He shrugs. "Yeah, I guess that could work."

Leon shifts in his seat beside Sora, and when the boy looks up he sees Rinoa leaning out of the upstairs door. She gives the group a small wave, gesturing for them to come up. With yet more grumbling from Donald, and an odd stiffness from Leon, the group ascend the stairs and make their way into the second floor.

They enter a large office, stepping over dark wood floors and onto a thick red rug. A large shelf sits to one side of the room, stocked with liquor bottles of varying sizes and colors. Another, smaller shelf is against the opposite wall, this one storing books. The rest of the room is fairly dominated by a massive desk that flawlessly matches the flooring. It's clean and uncluttered, a small computer, desk lamp, and a few trinkets covering most of its surface. The wall behind it is mostly all one large window, looking out over a section of town.

A man sits behind the desk, thin in a lithely muscled kind of way, with tan skin and fine dark hair arranged in a graceful wave. A golden hoop earring gleams in the lamplight. He wears a dark blue shirt with a brown-and-gold vest over it. The man, presumably this Al-Cid guy, regards them all with a curious eye.

"Quite interesting," he says after a moment of quiet scrutiny, his voice containing just a hint of an exotic accent. "So, which one of you is the ex-boyfriend? I like to have an idea of my competition."

Leon glares at the man, looking ready to leap across the desk. A scoff from Rinoa defuses the situation. "There is no competition," she says, giving Al-Cid her own, milder version of Leon's reproachful look. "At least, not one you're in the running for."

Al-Cid places a hand over his heart, looking exaggeratedly pained. "You wound me again, Miss Heartilly." He sighs, shaking his head and returning his gaze to the group. "Very well then, which one of you is the supposed great hero?"

Sheepishly, Sora raises a hand. "Um, I guess that would be me. I mean…" Lowering his arm parallel to the ground, he summons the Keyblade. "Ta da?"

Al-Cid looks intrigued, sitting up out of his lazy lean and regarding the Keybearer with a more serious interest. "Quite a party trick you have there, kid. Reminds me of a story I heard once…"

"Story?" Sora asks, lowering his arm. The Keyblade remains out though, just in case.

"Never mind," he says, shrugging the question off. "You say you know how to use that thing?"

Sora can't help but let a smirk show on his face. "Yeah, worked pretty well for Radiant Garden."

Al-Cid stops, suddenly just looking confused. Rinoa watches him with a self-satisfied look, nodding as a clear realization grows on the man's face. She throws a little wink Sora's way, appreciative.

"Interesting," Al-Cid manages to say a moment later, looking composed once again. "It seems that you are correct about the new elements in play, Rinoa."

"You think that's new!" Sora blurts, unable to help himself. In one swift motion, he reaches out and tears the heavy cloak off of Donald Duck. The anthropomorphic wizard squawks in surprise, face reddening as he turns on Sora.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" he declares, stomping one foot indignantly against the wooden floor.

"What?" Sora replies, his free hand raised defensively. "You kept complaining about wanting the cloak off. I figured now would be a good time!"

"Well, you could've asked!"

"Can I do mine too?" Goofy inquires. At Sora's nod, he lets the cloak fall away as well. "Gwarsh, I didn't realize how hot that thing was."

"You kept cool by falling down," Donald grumbles.

"One surprise after another," Al-Cid interjects, looking quite a bit less tranquil than before. He turns to Rinoa. "There may be something to what you said after all. Maybe all it will take is a little change to show people the consequences of their fear. All it takes is a little hope, perhaps."

"That's what we're counting on," Rinoa says with a wide smile. Her brown eyes seem to burn with a fierceness that hasn't yet been shown. Leon tries his best to hide just how mesmerizing it is. "That's why I came here. I know the kind of people you attract. I know that others will come when we call. Fang and Snow have been working for hours to find anyone else who's ready. As soon as they see Sora in action, they'll know it's time!"

Al-Cid is quiet another long moment, suddenly looking less confident than before. But that lasts only for a few moments, before hardening into a fierce, renewed sense of purpose. The thin man rises, standing almost as tall as Leon. Sora can see now that what initially looked like slightness is instead lithe muscle. He opens a desk drawer, pulling out a small revolver.

"Is this going to involve a speech?" Sora asks, sheepish in spite of himself.

"I can handle that, Sora," Rinoa assures him. With a confidence that has so far been held back, she exits the office. Her speech to the bar's patrons begins, and thus too does the beginnings of rebellion.

KH-KH-KH

"There's a what going on?" Vinzer Deiling practically screams, slamming a fist against the surface of his desk.

"Well, honestly sir I'm not sure what exactly we should call it," Laguna reports, his usual calm demeanor maintaining itself even in this crisis. "It's not quite a riot, really. More of a march I guess. Anyway, the point is that a whole bunch of people seem really pissed, and it's more or less being directed at PSICOM and this administration. The token street forces are pretty much getting pushed aside, and they're already at the governing district checkpoint. That's proving easier to hold them off, but it won't do for long."

"It's what we always feared," Colonel Nabaat says, grinding her teeth at the thought. "With all due respect, sir, you severely underestimated the resistance. Luckily, the solution is simple. All you need do is give PSICOM troops riot authority."

"By which you mean lethal force?" Vinzer says, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's sure to raise my popularity around here, isn't it?"

Nabaat's teeth start grinding again. She really should invest in some kind of mouth guard. "The population responds well to strength, Mister President. A show of force will remind them of the consequences of…"

"With all due respect," Laguna interrupts, earning a nigh-murderous look from his fellow officer, "that is a recipe for disaster. Reports are that the march or riot or whatever is just a gathering of some of the city's more seditious elements. If you start firing, it could provoke everyone else into leaping into the fight against PSICOM. And frankly, Sir, I'm not sure I would blame them. You just need to handle this calmly, baton action at worst. Nobody needs to die today."

"My, my," Jihl says with naked contempt. "It certainly must be nice to live in your fairytale world, Laguna. Meanwhile, in reality…"

"He's right," Deiling says, only just loud enough to be heard. Nabaat's insult stops cold, and she turns to the president with a horrified look on her face. He ignores her, focusing instead on Laguna. "Colonel, go down to the conflict zone and take charge. Hell, you're a friendly guy, you might just be able to talk those people down."

"B-but Sir…"

"Enough from you," Deiling says, pointing an accusatory finger at the female colonel. "Force is all well and good where the creatures are concerned, but the people of Bright Oasis are a bit more complicated to handle. We've discussed this before, yes?"

"I suppose we have, Mister President," Jihl concedes. Deiling had only recently let her in on Radiant Garden, and the incident with General Caraway.

"Is that all, then?" Laguna asks.

"Yes, Colonel," the president replies. "I know you've been needled for your rosy outlook in the past, but today it might be just what we need."

The colonel snaps off a smart salute. "Thank you for giving me the chance, Mister President." With a last nod to Jihl, Laguna makes his exit. Celes Chere joins him at the door.

Deiling gives Nabaat a hard look. For a moment she doesn't even notice, too busy scowling at the door Laguna just exited from. Not inclined to wait, Deiling clears his throat loudly. The colonel quickly returns her focus to him.

"Something is going on, Jihl," he says, voice somber and serious. "This is too bold a move to make without any backup. There's something else at work here, and I'm counting on you to find out what it is. Can I do that?"

Jihl Nabaat nods once, the motion crisp and professional. Perhaps too much so. "Mister President, I can assure you that I will make sure this situation ends the way it's supposed to." With that last promise, the colonel makes her way out of the president's office and into the hallway. She nearly collides with three men making their way through the corridor. She throws a scowl their way, her anger temporarily dulling her focus enough that she misses who it is she almost ran into. Once she's back on even footing, the cruel scowl on her face only deepens. "What are you two doing up here?"

KH-KH-KH

Telary, of course, completely locks up. Though the woman standing in front of him is unknown to him, he can instantly tell that this is not someone to be messed with. But in the back of the wizard's mind, there is a nagging feeling that he's got the information on this. Something Rinoa said?

Thankfully, Riku remains calm. Rinoa had given he and Tel a brief rundown on people they might encounter in PSICOM headquarters. This, he's given to assume, is Jihl Nabaat. Fang had mentioned something about "that fascist psycho bitch" being one of PSICOM's worst. Something in his gut instantly tells the young man why. Luckily, he'd been listening while waiting to start their ambush in the alley earlier.

"We finished the rounds you ordered," he replies, doing his best to make sure his voice is distorted by his armor's headpiece. "And then, y'know… We kinda ran out of things to do. So we thought we'd come find you. Isn't that right?"

"Right-o," Telary replies, unable to keep a little tremble out of his voice. "Can't do anything without orders."

"Once again your incompetence astounds me," Nabaat says, rolling her eyes. "And who's your buddy here?"

"I merely ran into these fine soldiers on my way up here," Ardyn replies smoothly, waving a hand cavalierly. "We ended up falling into a conversation regarding the recent weather. I'd no idea they were attached to such an important commander. Forgive me for holding them up."

The colonel doesn't reply, dismissing Ardyn as the lowly clerk he is. "Whatever. Anyway, now that you're here I may have some use for you. Things are getting dicey outside, and the president wants the base secure. I'm going to go coordinate with the monitoring officers. You stay up here and wait for me at command central." She makes a negligent flick in Riku's direction. "Biggs, you're in charge I suppose. Don't take that as a compliment or anything, it just means you have further to fall when you inevitably let me down."

"Ma'am," Riku replies with a surprisingly snappy salute. Jihl pushes through the trio on her way to the elevator, but as she goes the Keyblade wielder can't resist just a little obstinacy. "Except, well, I'm actually Wedge, Ma'am."

Nabaat freezes for a long moment, before throwing an absolutely murderous look over her shoulder. "Forgive me, sergeant. For ever giving any sort of indication that I give a shit. Now, get to it!"

Riku can't help the smile that bursts out of him as he watches the colonel stomp down the hallway. It's the little things that keep a person going through tough times.

Telary isn't so amused. "Why did you do that?" he hisses, placing both hands on his hips. "You could have really gotten us in trouble, y'know."

Riku shrugs, noting that Ardyn is chuckling to himself behind his hand. Maybe this guy is alright after all. "Well," the clerk says once he's regained his composure. "A most amusing detour to be sure, but might we continue on to the goal? It's only just a little ways now."

"You wanna do the talking," Riku whispers to Telary as the resume their march, "be my guest next time. But if you're going to freeze up just because…"

"Okay, okay," Telary admits with a sigh. "Yeah, I guess that just got to me. Sorry."

"You two are certainly not what I would have expected," Ardyn comments. They turn down another hall, and suddenly see the door they've been looking for. "But certainly this will be the point at which you prove me wrong, hm?"

Riku grumbles wordlessly, examining the door in front of him. It's made of thick steel, with reinforced hinges to severely stall any efforts to knock it down. Embedded in the wall beside it is a large keypad, above which sits a flat screen for hand print scanning. A few feet above that is what looks like a small pair of binoculars, though it's simple enough to conclude they in fact serve the purpose of ocular identification. All in all, this is clearly a room that is not to be entered by those without the proper means.

Unfortunately, all the security in the universe means pretty much crap where a Keyblade is concerned. As long as there's some kind of physical locking mechanism, a Keyblade can do the trick.

Telary and Ardyn take up positions on either side of Riku, blocking him from the sight of anyone coming from either end of the hall. It still looks pretty conspicuous, but that's a risk they have to take. Way to Dawn appears in a flash in Riku's hand, and just before tapping the door, the silver-haired Keyblade wielder notices Ardyn looking impressed. Well, sort of impressed, but something else also…

"Riku…" Telary whispers, gesturing with his head to the door. "C'mon."

"Right, right," Riku replies. He taps his Keyblade against the door, and immediately is rewarded with the sound of several heavy bolts sliding out of place. With another gesture, the door slides open. The trio quickly piles into the room.

It's large, and dark, and cold. CPUs as tall as Telary stand in neatly organized rows. Given the room's apparent size, there must be dozens of them. The old saying about needles and haystacks comes to mind. Except this is more like searching for a needle in a stack of other needles.

That is, it would be without their little digital friend. Reaching into his pocket, Telary draws forth 9S's little flash drive housing. A small screen is built into the device, showing the program's boyish face.

"Okay, we're in," Telary reports, holding the stick up so he and 9S can communicate face to face. "Can you, y'know, pinpoint where you're supposed to go?"

"I'd suggest somewhere near the back," 9S says, his voice oddly chipper for a digital construct. "I can really be plugged in anywhere, but it would be better if you do this where no one can just walk in and immediately see you."

"Well, whaddya know," Riku says, arms crossed coolly. "The computer program knows how to be sneaky."

"I was made for hacking," 9S points out mirthfully.

"Unfortunately, I was not," Ardyn says, drawing the boys' attention back to him. "This must be where I take my leave. I wish you the best of luck, of course."

"Uh, sure," Riku says, suddenly wary for some unknown reason. "Say, Ardyn… We appreciate it and all, but why did you help us? What's your angle?"

"Angle?" the clerk replies, the notion apparently ridiculous to him. "I simply wish for a change in my fair city. Though I have often found myself a man of no consequence, this was the least I could do to bring about a new and better era for Bright Oasis."

"Well, you really helped," Telary says with his usual politeness and good cheer. "I mean, we literally would have been lost without you."

"But we can find our own way out," Riku says, abrupt and more than a little rude. Telary gives him a questioning look, but he ignores it. Either way, Ardyn slips out the door and closes it behind him.

Telary heads deeper into the room, Riku following him silently. Once he's found a spot sufficiently separated from the door's line of sight, the wizard gets to work. It takes him a few moments to find a proper port, considering the room's darkness and the abundance of space on the server. Finally, Riku steps up and does it for him, his better-refined night vision coming in handy. From there, it's basically left for them to wait.

"So, exit strategy again?" Telary asks, hugging his arms tightly against his chest. It really is quite cold in here.

"Sounds like the 'situation' outside is heating up already," Riku says, trying hard to act unbothered by the temperature. "I'd imagine most of the soldiers will be dealing with that. And hey, if we have to do some actual fighting to get out of here…" He shrugs.

"Wish I had your confidence," Tel says, sighing. "Y'know, this whole thing seems really sloppily planned. Seems to me someone had big dreams and only a rudimentary idea of how to carry them out. Planning is essential in such a big undertaking."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Riku asks with a shrug. "We're in too deep now for turning back. How long do you think that program guy will take?"

Now it's the wizard's turn to shrug. "Given what I learned about what goes on inside computers last year, can't say. Hopefully not too long. Eventually, that scary lady is going to want to know why her lackeys haven't shown up."

"And given our luck, I'd put it at sooner rather than later." With nothing else to do but wait, the young men settle themselves as best they can, staring intently at the server as 9S silently wages his battle within.

KH-KH-KH

Sora has, in his opinion, officially been to too many riots. Of the many, though, he's at this moment reminded of the uprising back on Ant Island. Except instead of insects he's surrounded by humans. And the "grasshopper" equivalent force here, PSICOM, is holding machine guns. Alright, so maybe this situation isn't all that similar, but still it's what has come to mind. That it is only one of the many comparisons he could have chosen to reflect on says something about his life the past few years.

The crowd is, all in all, rather modest. Rinoa's speech about freedom and rejecting fear had been a big hit, and Sora summoning the Keyblade had only sealed the deal. He hadn't even needed to say anything, and it wasn't a minute later that Snow and Fang had arrived with their own volunteers. The few PSICOM officers on the street had been persuaded from interfering by the sheer numbers, and the march for the military's headquarters had begun. A few officers had tried to stop them, but a few scattered men and women were no match for an organized force of at least two dozen or so.

Now they're at a large series of barricades that those PSICOM officers who had heard the message about the people on the street heading their way. That might not be enough to deter the crowd, except for the aforementioned machine guns in the soldiers' hands. The crowd had stopped, suddenly wary when faced with real danger.

"Just stay calm, everyone," Rinoa orders, her voice amplified by some unknown magical means. "Just stay calm, and keep organized. In just a few minutes, I promise you we'll have the advantage we need."

Everyone in the crowd listens to her advice willingly enough. Sora can detect their drop in bravado however, and it's clear to him that the people are more likely to retreat than get unruly. Riku and Telary's mission can't finish quickly enough.

"She's right," a loud, megaphoned in voice announces. A dark green military jeep pulls up to the barricade, and a man jumps out. He looks quite official, his blue and white armor gleaming. His helmet is off, revealing a handsome face and oddly long hair. He continues to remain calm, speaking into the amplifier. "If you don't know me, I'm Colonel Loire. This doesn't need to escalate, people. We understand how frustrated you might feel, but…"

"Frustrated!" Snow yells, practically spitting in his disdain. "I'm not frustrated, you jackass! I'm mad!" Several cries rise up around the young man, all equally full of anger. All only barely restrained. Perhaps Sora had read this crowd completely wrong.

"I understand that," the colonel says, his voice somehow even calmer. "Bu this isn't the way to handle it. Tying up PSICOM resources here could mean disaster for…"

"The Heartless that haven't been a real problem for months now?" Snow yells back, more wordless cries of agreement accompanying him.

"Snow…" Rinoa tries to caution her compatriot. Unfortunately, her words are drowned out by the boisterous young man's supporters. Frustrated, she turns to Leon. "I don't understand! This wasn't our plan, he's gone totally off script…"

"And you're surprised?" Leon asks, his usually dispassionate tone coming off as merely cold at the moment. Somehow, it cuts through the increasing noise all the same. "Rinoa, I know you think this whole thing has to happen now, but…"

"Uh, fellas!" Goofy cuts in nervously. Sora, Rinoa, Leon, and Donald turn to look at the guard captain, who fearfully points towards Snow's block. "I think things are about to get messy!"

"About time," Sora swears he hears Donald mutter under his breath.

The barricades, and indeed the guns, seem to have lost their effect. It seems like most of the crowd has been persuaded by Snow's way of thinking. A fight is brewing, several PSICOM soldiers stepping back and raising their guns to the ready.

"No guns!" Laguna yells, sounding desperate and genuinely concerned. "Please, calm down everyone. Please don't…"

Rinoa is yelling herself. "Wait, wait! Control yourselves, you just need to wait…"

Unfortunately, the situation has surpassed any attempts from anyone to control its outcome. What happens next is inevitable, the disturbed citizens of Bright Oasis clashing against a steady tide of PSICOM officers.

KH-KH-KH

Riku is not, by definition, an impatient person. Not after he'd learned so potent a lesson in the virtue of patience years before. Still, something about the combination of inactivity, cold, and sheer annoyance at the whole scope of his current situation is pushing his buttons, making him wish for things to move along. He'd even take something going horribly wrong, at this point. While not precisely fun, it would at least be something.

"Any word?" he asks Telary. The wizard, still hovering over the server where they'd plugged in 9S, shakes his head. Riku can tell that the situation has had its own unique effect on Telary, just as it has him. In the redhead's case, it's manifesting in a kind of twitchy nervousness.

But he can only shake his head, peering down at the small drive with a frown. "It's nothing to worry about, probably. Right? No, no of course not…"

"If it takes much longer we might need to start worrying," Riku says, letting out a breath and trying to hold back the annoyance gnawing at him. "I don't like being stuck in here without a viable exit strategy. Damn it, we never should have agreed to this!"

"How do you think I feel?' Tel points out, quite a bit angrier than Riku has seen him in a long time. "This is supposed to be my weekend, y'know? Then all of a sudden it's just like always, another life ore death battle to save whatever. And what's worse is, I totally expected it. Heck, I'm sure my wedding is going to turn into some kind of clusterf…"

Riku stiffens, some strange, unnameable instinct telling him that something is about to happen. Something bad. Before he's even really aware of what he's doing, the silver-haired Keyblade wielder has Telary tacked to the floor, a hand firmly affixed over his mouth. A moment later, the sound of the door sliding smoothly open echoes in the large, cold room.

Both men hear footsteps, and then a harsh female voice barks out, "Don't bother hiding, 'Biggs' or 'Wedge'. I know you're in here." Jihl Nabaat's footsteps start up again, joined by several others walking in near-perfect sync.

Riku gives Telary an easily-read look, imploring the wizard to remain silent. The wizard's unspoken reply is read just as easily. It's somewhere in the neighborhood of 'Yeah, no duh!'. As one, the pair look up to where 9S's drive is still sticking out of the server. It looks like, whether they're ready or not, this operation has run out of time.