Update Feb 2014: psst, if you're curious as to what happened in Castle Oblivion while Riku and Namine were gone, check ch33-37 of Can't Escape

Chapter 63: Serious talk over a plate of Cookies

After clearing a few things up with everyone in Castle Oblivion and letting everyone know where they were heading, as well as making sure Joseph didn't try and tag along, they headed to Hollow Bastion.

"And just how are we going to figure out where we're supposed to go?" Riku asked, as they stepped out of the dark corridor and entered the completely empty castle.

Namine opened her sketchbook and flipped to a certain picture. "I'm guessing here," she said showing him the picture.

Riku glanced at it and his jaw actually dropped. "Since when does Hollow Bastion have a town?" he asked. "You think I would have noticed something like that! Seriously…"

Namine shrugged and put her sketchbook away. She reached out, opening a dark corridor, and then smiled slightly. "I think I know where we need to be, come on."

And with that, they stepped through.

xxx

Riku stepped out of the dark corridor. He took one glance around and groaned. "Really?" he hissed, turning back to Namine. "This is the second time you've done this to me!"

"Done what?" Namine asked, and then stopped, realizing where they were. They were standing in the middle of someone's house. "Oh…" she muttered.

"This is as bad as the time where you opened up dark corridor for me saying 'Here, this leads to Hollow Bastion!' without mentioning the fact that I would end up walking into Kairi's room!" Riku said.

"It's not like you walked in on anything-" Namine began.

"It was still embarrassing!" he exclaimed.

"Well, sorry," she replied, a touch of sarcasm in her voice. "I just think: 'Oh! This is where I need to be!' and opened up a dark corridor. I suppose I really should take the time to make sure that it doesn't lead somewhere we don't want to be, but it's a bit late now, and we're already-"

"Would you like some cookies?" someone asked, interrupting her.

They both turned, and were surprised to find Aerith standing there, a tray of cookies in her hands. She smiled politely at them, and her eyes were filled with laughter.

"See, I told you we were in the right place!" Namine said.

Riku rolled his eyes and turned to Aerith. "Sorry," he said. "We didn't mean to intrude like this."

"Oh, it's perfectly alright," Aerith assured them. "I have complete strangers at my house all the time. And it's not like you guys are even strangers!"

"This is your house?" Namine asked.

Aerith nodded. "Right now we're using it for the headquarters until we have the rest of the town rebuilt." She sighed and then offered them the tray of cookies again.

"I would take one if I were you!" Cid called from across the room. "They might not last much longer."

"He's only saying that because he intends on eating them all," Yuffie laughed.

"You eat a fair share of them yourself!" Cid argued.

The argument continued, but Riku tuned them out, as he had gotten so used to doing. "You guys are rebuilding the town?" he asked, taking a bite of his cookie. He paused a second and chewed for a bit, taking care to enjoy the cookie. It was chocolate chip and still warm, not to mention absolutely delicious.

"Yeah," Leon called from where he was sitting. He was sitting in the middle of one of the couches between Cid and Yuffie, most likely to keep them from arguing. "This was our childhood home. We're going to restore it to its former glory."

"Sounds like a lot of work," Namine said as Aerith lead her and Riku over to the couches. She gestured at the empty one and urged them to sat down, which they did, but not before grabbing another cookie. Aerith laughed and set the cookies down on the coffee table between the two couches and then sat down next to Namine.

"It is a lot of work," Yuffie replied, snatching a cookie from the tray. "We've got Heartless bothering us almost every day, and they make all the other work almost impossible!"

Everyone agreed to that.

Riku grabbed another cookie, but then paused, noticing something. Or, rather, someone. Sitting in an extra chair that looked like it had been pulled over was someone he didn't recall ever seeing before. It was a man with extremely spiky blonde hair, intense blue eyes, and a rather bored expression on his face.

"Oh!" Aerith laughed, obviously noticing his confusion. "I can't believe I forgot to introduce you! That's Cloud!"

The man, Cloud, glanced up and merely nodded.

"Cloud," Aerith continued. "This is Namine, and this is Riku." She pointed to each of them in turn, and then returned her attention to Cloud. "Remember? Sora mentioned them while he was here."

Cloud raised his eyebrows slightly, but still said nothing.

"Sora was here?" Namine asked, and then laughed. "Hang on, that was an obvious question. How is he?"

"He seems to be okay," Aerith replied.

"Still struggling with his darkness," Leon added.

"I think he's starting to get it under control, though," Cloud said, voice quiet. "And he seems to be handling things rather well, especially from what he's told me. I haven't known him long enough to be absolutely sure, but I can tell he's fighting the darkness with all his might. If you're worried much about him, don't be, the darkness is the least of his worries."

There was silence for a moment, as everyone seemed to soak in what Cloud said.

"If the darkness is the least of his worries…" Riku said slowly.

"Then what does he need to worry about?" Namine finished.

"His Shadow," Cloud replied simply.

There was another lapse of silence, as Riku and Namine tried to figure out what that meant. Someone must have noticed. Before long Leon explained:

"His darkness has manifested itself into physical form. And this darkness, his Shadow, is currently on an odd plane of existence where only a few people can actually see or hear him besides Sora," Leon rattled this all off as if he had explained it many times before. "However, he is very intent on dragging Sora back into the darkness, or at least kill him. And from the sounds of things, he won't have much trouble doing so."

"So why hasn't he, yet?" Riku asked.

"He's dragging this out for the enjoyment of it, right?" Aerith replied.

Cloud nodded.

"That's good, then," Namine sighed. "That will give Sora enough time to get strong enough to beat him, am I right?"

"Well, yes," Cloud said. "But it's not as good as you think. The two of them are currently in the state where they are constantly drawing power from each other, whether they realize it or not. But they aren't just drawing power, they are also drawing from each other's essence. One of them will change to be more like the other, within time." Cloud slowly reached out and grabbed a cookie, remaining completely casual. He took a glance around the room, noting the concern on everyone's face.

"The complete change will take a while to fully happen," he assured everyone. "It could be months, at least. And by that time, one of them will most likely be dead, so it won't matter."

"How do you know all this!" Yuffie demanded, sounding rather shocked. "And why didn't you tell any of us?"

Cid butt in before Cloud could answer. "How d'yeh not know?" he asked Yuffie, face scrunched up in confusion. "Sephiroth gave us all loads of trouble!"

"Mm," Aerith said, with a slight shake of her head. "That was before Traverse Town, though. So, Yuffie wouldn't have been there for it. And... I don't think he ever showed up in Traverse Town."

"He can't have, or I'd remember it!" Yuffie said, firmly.

"Sephiroth was my Shadow," Cloud explained. "And the same thing happened to me. I got rid of him, though, long before the total change took effect."

"Shouldn't you tell Sora all of this?" Riku asked skeptically.

"I will, I if I see him again," Cloud replied.

"Well, enough of that," Aerith said quickly. "What brings you two here?" she asked, turning to Namine and Riku.

"Sora, actually," Riku explained. "He left us a note, saying that you guys were having trouble with some Heartless, and asked that we head over here to help, if we weren't too busy."

"Well, that was nice of you!" Cid laughed.

"We were also told to ask about your soup," Namine added, turning to him.

Cid made a face. "I'll makes some tonight…" he muttered.

"How long are you planning on staying?" Aerith asked.

"Not long," Riku replied. "Just a few days. There are still a few things going on at Castle Oblivion, and if we're gone too long there might be issues."

Namine opened her mouth to add that it was only really Riku that couldn't be gone long, but decided against it after a moment and took a bite of cookie instead. Of course, mid-bite, something else occurred to her. She quickly swallowed.

"It is alright if we stay here, isn't it?" she asked.

Aerith nodded, grinning. "Of course it is! You guys are welcome anytime!"

There was a loud crash from outside.

"'Bout time they showed up!" Yuffie laughed, jumping to her feet, shuriken in hand. She ran out the door and threw the shuriken. The sound of dying Heartless soon followed.

Cloud stood up, hand on the hilt of his sword. He started out the door, but paused. He cast a glance over his shoulder at Aerith. She nodded and followed him outside.

Leon readied his gunblade. He glanced around the room, and then headed out, too.

Riku, who was on his feet by this point, watched him go. He started to follow, but then stopped, glancing at Namine. She seemed a bit worried, but not at all scared.

He swallowed.

I should… really help…

But…

Namine…

"I'll look after her," Cid said.

Riku turned, slightly shocked. Cid had not moved from the couch. Rather, he only made himself more comfortable.

"I got hurt a bit ago," Cid explained simply. "Nasty gash on my leg, you shoulda' seen it while it was still fresh!" He grinned and scratched his chin. "Anyways, Aerith doesn't want me fightin' jus' yet, not 'til it's healed. Besides-" He paused just long enough to stretch out on the couch. "The Heartless rarely come in the house."

Riku just stood there staring at him. He didn't know what to say, though he knew he should say something. He just didn't know what-

"Go on," Namine told him, smiling. "I'll be fine."

Slowly, Riku nodded. "Of- Of course you will," he said, summoning his blade. "But, if… if you need anything- just- just yell, okay?" He flashed her a smile, and then ran out the door to join in the Heartless killing.