Hello! I'm back to updating my baby and by now, this story has lasted for a month!

WOOOT!

My friend said she hasn't seen this kind of plot before. I was very happy! Still am. Actually, this has been out for a month, yet I started it four days ago. OH THE IRONY!

Well, on with the chapter!

Find a Penny, Pick It Up

Heads

His eyes opened a tiny crack before shutting again. His brain, trying to catch up with the rest of reality, was fuzzy and he couldn't figure out for the life of him what had woken him up.

He didn't hear any sounds.

No pain.

No smell.

And then he realized it. Frowning, Riku opened his eyes a tiny bit more, then half way, then fully open. Blinking, he scratched the sleep from his eyes with an unfurled hand before using it to push himself up from the ground, palms pressing down on the ice-cold stone.

He felt the thin blanket roll off of him. He had been sleeping? What happened to keeping guard?

But there were more pressing matters. Now that his mind had caught up with the rest of him, he registered the fact that the door was standing wide open and fresh, early morning sunlight was streaming through. The dusty rays of sun shattered the hazy state of his brain and made his eyes widen far past their normal extent. So bright, the early morning sun make him curse quietly. No, not early morning... it looked more like noon. How long had he slept?

Muttering even more curses, Riku slowly toppled to his knees. He must've been really tired to sleep that long...

But why the HELL was the door open? He hadn't opened it, which meant Sora had. And speaking of Sora...Where was the little pipsqueak?

"Sora?" Riku called softly. Standing up, he walked over to where Sora slept... but the brunette wasn't there. The raggedy blanket lay heaped in a haphazard pile, but obviously hadn't been slept in that night. Frown deepening, Riku looked around for a note. He walked slowly around the room, the corners of his mouth dipping further down with every step he took. Sora was gone without a note... the door was wide open... if the guards had come, they would've taken Riku, too. He could not have been captured.

He stopped in his tracks as his feet crunched on something. Taking a step back, Riku looked down. On the ground at his feet was a thin layer of ash, tiny, burnt scraps of paper noticeable among the black.

Sora's been burning something.

Riku knelt down and gently picked up one of the tiny scraps of paper in his fingertips. He had a terrible feeling in his gut... something wasn't right about this... It felt like sand paper, rubbing against his fingertips as he fiddled with it idly.

He blinked. The paper had jogged something in his memory. There was something missing... he didn't feel that piece of paper in his pocket poking into his leg. Oh no...

His hand flew to his pocket, tiny piece of burnt paper fluttering back to the ground. No poster. He checked the other pocket. Nothing.

Did Sora... oh no... he... he saw it...

Panic welled in his stomach, spreading like poison and making him numb as he shook slightly. He was barely aware as his eyelids clenched together tightly.

Riku bit his lip hard, eyes still shut in anger. Partly at Sora for nosing around, but mostly at himself for not hiding it from the brunette. Then again, Sora would see it sooner or later. When he was walking home from the bazaar, he has seen them posted all over the walls. He was shocked that Sora wasn't captured, but he figured they wouldn't try an arrest in a crowd of people. And he didn't want to worry Sora...

But now it was all out.

Sora wasn't safe. Riku growled in frustration and he felt a coppery taste in his mouth. He briefly registered he had bit his lip so hard it bled, but that wasn't his primary concern right now. Not even close. He had to find Sora or he'd be caught for sure...

But Disney Village was a big place, thousands of people, and one teenager.

"FUCK!" Riku roared, eyes flashing. He jumped up to his feet and ran across the room in two seconds flat. And like a bullet from a gun, he ripped through the doorway, out of the curtains, and down the dusty road... to the depths of his worst nightmare.

Tails

His chin was tucked down as far as it could go, hiding his face from the throng of people that streamed from his left and right. It... it felt so foreign. As if what he had seen finally made the difference. What finally set him apart from other people.

Wanted.

He... he never knew it'd get this out of hand. Now, even the slightest glimmer of hope was gone. People were finally looking for them. Wanting to throw them in jail... they had put bounty money on their heads!

It was really over now...

They took away their grassy fields...

Sora wanted to go home.

Their smiling faces...

He wanted his friend back... he wanted his parents... someone, anyone, to tell him it was all right.

Their happy home...

Was this really how it ended? To feel so cold, so empty... without a purpose but to be pushed and shoved by society like a puppet in a play? He felt hollow like wood, his hands and feet drawn up along the wires of fate, forced into a deadly dance for the entertainment of those around him.

Was that all he was? A puppet?

They took away his home, his family... and now they were doing it again. They were going to try and take away his home, his friend...

A never-ending dance.

And he felt like he was being watched. Watched like a puppet in a play, dancing the steps laid out by those higher then him, a useless pawn. So empty... He had come so far. THEY had come so far! And still... he understood nothing.

He knew he was being watched. He could feel their eyes on him. The words turned into whispered conversations behind their hands as they eyes narrowed at him, as if he couldn't see. As if he couldn't hear. But Sora knew, he heard, he felt... and it was all so cold.

Was this what is was like to die? To lose all hope? And it was all set off by such a tiny thing, a tiny key to opening something so much bigger. How would someone else feel, anyone else, to live by off of so little, have so much taken away, sacrifice so much... to end up on a wanted poster? It was too much to handle... it wasn't his and Riku's fault! It was theirs! Too busy basking in the glowing light of the Castle to look behind it, in it's shadows. It was like a mirror... everything was opposite. There was no happy endings, it seemed. And there never would be.

He had to make his own. But how could he do that when they were all watching him like that? When they all wanted him taken away... he was too young. His dreams were being shredded into pieces, dreams of freedom, a nice home... fields... smiles... to feel like he was at home.

His dreams were dying hard.

Dreams die harder, a voice whispered in his ear, when you let them bring you down with them.

No. It wasn't over yet. Someone was playing with him, like a toy, and he wouldn't allow it any longer. He couldn't. He would cut the strings... as soon as he found the puppeteers.

Sora nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand clutch his shoulder firmly. His heart skipped several beats (it seemed to be doing that a lot lately) and he heard a familiar, comforting voice, "Relax, Sora, it's just me."

"Riku," Sora breathed in relief, finally looking up with shining blue eyes. "Don't scare me like that."

Riku gave him a cold look. "You're not the one who has the right to be saying that."

Sora felt the hair on the back of his neck, and it wasn't from Riku's look; not, that was the cause of the goose bumps. No, this was something else.

Eyes slowing maneuvering around his, Sora saw that they had caught the stares of the other civilians. Most of the looks they were getting were as angry as Riku's. Others look frightened. Others nervous.

"Let's get out of here," Riku muttered, hand tightening on Sora's shoulder, making him wince.

Sora let his friend steer him away from the silent group of people. He had to jog to keep up with Riku long, brisk strides, and he had begun to work up a sweat by the time they had reached the deserted part of town.

It was a deadly quiet, the only sound being their hurried footsteps. Sora had never seen Riku act like this before... it was scary. He could almost see the steam pouring out from his ears, and it was very unnerving.

Riku stopped so suddenly Sora ran right into the older teen. Shaking his head, Sora took a hasty step back. Riku's eyes were boring into his eyes, flashing with rage, fury, and... guilt...

"Riku...?" Sora whispered hesitantly when Riku failed to say anything.

"Don't you ever..." Riku hissed in a low voice, "ever, ever run off like that again, Sora..."

Sora blinked. He had expected Riku to yell at him. To be furious at him for leaving without a note, for not waking the elder one up, for not doing something...

"I'm sorry, Sora..." Riku whispered sadly. The flames in his eyes were going out fast, replaced by a look that made Sora squirm with uncertainty. He looked... so empty. So sad... and Sora hated that.

"I... I couldn't protect you, Sora... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Heads

"So let me get this straight... you need our help to catch kids?"

"Yes, Yuffie! Rub it in all ya want, but we need some help."

"The Royal Guards couldn't handle a couple of kids?"

"Erm, they're teenagers, actually..."

King Mickey never got the chance to finish his sentence. The ninja had doubled over in laughter, clutching her stomach.

"Yuffie, shut up," a tall man with long brown hair muttered. His face was set in what looked like a permanent frown and his steely gray eyes flashed dangerously in her direction. He had on leather pants with a multitude of long, drooping brown belts that hung off of his hips. He wore a white t-shirt with a black t-shirt hanging off of it. Over it was a thick chain with a large lion pendant on it and, strapped to his back, was a gigantic sword that looked like a gun at the hilt.

But Yuffie continued to giggle, eyes bright with laughter as she tried to calm herself down. She had on short khaki shorts with a brown belt looping down to her thigh, katana secured in the pouches that lined the brown strap of leather. She had on long socks that almost came to her knee and brown shoes on her small feet. She wore a green tank top and s sleeveless green jacket that stopped right after her bare midriff. A headband wrapped around her skull and two feathers stuck out of short black hair.

"Sorry," she laughed, the corners of her eyes still crinkled in laughter. Her eyes danced merrily, a wide grin spread on her face in mirth, showing bright white teeth.

King Mickey sighed, scratching the back of his head. "That's all right," he said. "But if you don't mind, we need to get down to business."

"And what is business?" a sullen looking blond murmured. "Honestly, you're paying us to hunt down two teenagers?"

King Mickey huffed impatiently at the tall blond. He had black jeans on that was covered in slip, belts and chains. He had on a dark shirt, another black leather jacket with short arm on him. He had a large black glove on one hand a s smaller one on the other. He, too, had a sword, this one attached to his hips. It had a wide, thick blade that was wrapped in cloth, some of the shiny metal poking through the bonds.

"Yes, Cloud," Mickey muttered. "Two teenagers." Clearing his throat, he said, "These were the ones I was telling you about! The ones who've been here for nine years...?"

"Oh yeah, I remember them!" she nodded happily. Everyone looked around at Yuffie, who continued to grin happily. "The ones on the wanted posters, right?"

"Right," King Mickey nodded.

"Heeheehee, I saw them just the other day!"

"..."

"..."

"...what did you just say?"

"I said," she huffed impatiently, "that I saw them the other day!" Turning back to her uber happy mood, she went on, "Yeah, the really sexy one with the silver hair and the cute little brown-haired boy! I saw them at the market!"

"And you didn't bring them here because...?" Cloud coaxed.

She shrugged, continuing to smile. "The little guy gave me the cutest puppy dog look and the other one was... well, he was just being hot! I couldn't arrest them!"

"DAMNIT, YUFFIE!"

King Mickey sighed, slapping a hand to his forehead and slowly shaking his head. "I can't believe this," he muttered. "This isn't an arrest attempt. It's a joke."

"Ohh, a joke?" Yuffie exclaimed happily. "I wanna hear a joke!"

"Yuffie. Be quiet," Leon commanded softly. She shut up immediately, and he went on, "And what do you want us to do about this? Go hunt them down and drag them here?"

"Well, um, if it comes down to that," King Mickey said sadly. "But I'd much rather this first plan work; I don't wanna hurt 'em!"

"They've been stealing for nine years!" Yuffie exclaimed. "And you don't' want to HURT them?"

"But they're only kids!" Mickey protested. "No matter what they did, I'd rather them come here un-harmed, got it?"

He got glum nods as a response. What a shame. They felt like beating something up.

"So what's the plan, mouse?" Leon muttered.

King Mickey flashed a grin. "We've found their hideout," he said proudly. "It's in a hidden room in a warehouse behind the old abandoned pottery shop down on Fifth Street. The guards are having a stakeout there right now, and all we have to do is wait for them to walk in."

Tails

"Protect me?" Sora whispered. "Riku...? Protect me from what?"

His ragged breaths filled the silent, air fighting it's way into his rapidly beating chest to be exhaled twice as fast. The teen had a dead look in his eyes, so much uncertainty, worry. Years of bad decisions trickling through his eyes, down his cheeks, over his arms, to the ground. Seeping into the dusty dirt road and sucking the oxygen from the air.

So hard to breath.

So quiet.

...Mom...? Mom?... Dad... Riku...

Save me...

"Riku...?"

"...everything..." Riku whispered. "For all of this shit. I didn't mean... for it to go this far..."

"Neither of us did," Sora reminded him softly. He rested a hand gently on his best friends shoulder. "Everything'll be okay. You'll see; we've gotten through worse..."

And then a grip as tight of steel cracked down on Sora's thin wrist.

"No, we haven't!"

Sora winced in pain as Riku gripped his arm harshly, the blood coming to a halt just short of his hand. "Ow, Riku..."

"Don't say that! How can you smile?"

"Riku, you're hurting me..."

"How can you do it, Sora?"

"Please..."

"TELL ME!"

"Let me GO!"

Riku blinked in surprise, snapped out of his fit of anger as Sora twisted his wrist and yanked it free of Riku's hold. The skin was burning red and Sora rubbed it gingerly, wincing before turning to glare up at his best friend. "What the fuck is your problem?"

The flames dancing in Riku's eyes grew smaller and smaller, his muscles slowly relaxing from their painful tension. His face was still white as paper, tiny beads of sweat running down his face quickly, dipping into the crescents of his eyes before drawing down his cheeks, trickling down his neck.

Breath still coming out in sharp pangs, he managed to squeeze out the words, "I'm sorry..."

There was a tense silence. The sun was still high and beating down their necks, but neither seemed to notice. Their was a nauseous, rumbling feeling rolling in their stomach. Partly because of their argument, another because they couldn't shake off the feeling... that they were being watched.

"Let's... let's just calm down," Riku breathed, running a shaking hand through his silver tresses.

Ignoring the fact that Riku had been the one who had just exploded, not him, SOra offered his best friend a feeble smile. "Let's just go inside, kay? Then we can talk this over."

Riku twitched a bit. "You're actually willing to crawl back into that little hell hole?"

"Hey, that little hell hole is our home," Sora huffed, pouting. "Besides," he gestured around the street with a thin arm, "it's a bit more private."

Riku chuckled. "Yeah, Sora," he agreed. "Let's go inside so all the invisible people crowd around us."

It took a moment or two before Sora finally got it, and when he did, he began to pout. "Hey!" he scowled.

He followed the silver-haired teen through the battered doorway, brushing the musty sheet aside to allow him entrance. "That wasn't funny, Riku."

His friend didn't reply.

Sora frowned. "Riku...?"

And then Sora stepped through the final doorway and blinked.

There was Riku. Stiff and frozen as a statue, back facing him.

And another dozen pairs of eyes gleaming at him evilly from inside of the room.

The guards!

Chapter End

I am so sorry! I haven't updated in such a long time! It's all my fault; I put my personal shit before my writing and I'm sorry T-T. This chapter got deleted and I had to re-write it... and it's my fault. I don't even have enough in me to ask you for a forgiveness, let alone reviews.

So... I'm really, really sorry. But the next three chapters are easy to write and WILL be coming out weekly! I swear.