Sorry it took so long for me to update. But there are several reasons for this:

First of all, I'm not getting many reviews. What, is it because now that you know I'll update once a week, I no longer need feed back? C'mon, people!

Second, I have no time. I'm dealing with a whole bunch of shit right now; heh, bit off more then I can chew. So I'll try to write more, but no promises,

Call It in the Air

Part 3

His eyelids had decided not to listen to him. The noises he was hearing practically screamed "COME AND FIND ME!" The yelling, the footsteps, the... cursing...? The blood, the pain, the blinding light, the steely tones, the creaking of chains that were bound around his wrists...

And that was when he woke up.

The blinding pain he had once felt all over his body had ebbed away slightly, but it was enough to keep him from moving too much. His mind felt a bit clearer, although it still took a few moments to call back his memories of the past happenings.

He had had the weirdest dream. Or nightmare, really. He had dreamt him and Sora had fought the palace guards, and he had been dragged away to the Castle gravely injured.

He had to stop eating before sleeping. It gave him weird dreams. The thing was, he couldn't remember eating in... three days.

Damn it, he was hungry!

"Hey, you're awake..."

All right, that definitely wasn't Sora's voice!

Moaning a bit, Riku shifted slightly to try and get the waking-up kinks out of his muscles. His body felt stiff and painful, pangs of pain hooting up his body with the slightest movement.

Slowly, he opened one eye up.

Bright light was shining in his eyes from an open window facing his bed. Early morning sun rays twinkled on the dew on the tree leaves, sparkling like little diamonds. It was all taunting him with its perfection all of it. Just reminding him of everything and everywhere he didn't belong.

Like here.

But... where was 'here'?

"Hello? Kid, wake the Hell up..."

"Uuurgh..." Riku suddenly became religious. Please, God, anywhere but here...

"Hey, c'mon! Get up!"

All of a sudden, Riku felt something sharp tap his nose. Grunting, Riku shifted again and peeked an eye open to glower at the man who had just flicked his nose.

"..."

Cloud glowered down at him, soft lips in a straight line and blue eyes boring down into his. He was standing with one hand over his chest, the other still in front of Riku's face, ready to flick the teen again should he try to fall back asleep.

"...Aerith... he's awake."

Riku's eyes narrowed until they were only thin slits of green. With a growl, a smacked Cloud's gloved hand away. Cloud just raised an eyebrow as Riku pushed the sheets off of his chest.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ignoring him, Riku struggled into a sitting position. His face betrayed his mask, showing the massive amounts of pain flowing through his body. Gritting his teeth, he swung his legs over the side of the bed.

Cloud just watched the teens stubborn attempts, and then sighed. Rolling his eyes, the blonde grabbed Riku's shoulder and pushed him back down onto the bed, albeit gently.

Cloud sighed again as the teen struggled beneath him, desperately trying to pry the older man's hands off of his shoulder. Tightening his grip, Cloud said, "Relax, kid. I'm not going to hurt you... Not like you could get any more hurt then you already are, but..."

At this moment, the tall brunette woman chose to make her entrance. She had a long black skirt on with thick white stitching and a white shirt on with sleeves then went down to the elbows. A white apron was looped over her neck and tied snugly around her waist, and a black tie keeping her hair back from her face.

She was carrying, the struggling teen noticed, a silver tray on which lay a plate of toast, a tall cup of milk, and a glass of orange juice. A bowl of what looked to be oatmeal was there, also, a silver spoon gleaming in the light as it stuck in the sticky substance.

Aerith sighed. "Riku, please. We're trying to help you..."

"I don't need your fucking help," Riku hissed, eyes blazing with the utmost hatred. He was breathing hard, and his body was going limp under Cloud's hands, the strength draining faster then it had hit him. He felt so tired, so weak...

Helpless.

Aerith wasn't deterred by his snappiness at all. She just smiled kindly down at him and came closer, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Cloud kept his hands on Riku's shoulders, however, lest he decide to make a break for freedom again. "Here," she said, setting the tray on her lap. "I brought you some breakfast."

Riku's left eye twitched a bit. "I'm not hungry," he sniffed, tilting his head away from the nurse. Cloud gave Riku's shoulders a threatening squeeze, but the teen just ignored him.

"Of course you're not," she said in a tone that said she believed anything but. She stirred the oatmeal idly with the spoon, raising a brown eyebrow at him. "Would you like to sit up and eat yourself, or do you need me to feed you?"

At this, Riku's head snapped back at her, and growled, "I said I'm not hungry! Now leave me the Hell alone..."

"Quiet," Cloud commanded softly. Riku glared up at the blonde, but said nothing. "It's obvious you haven't eaten anything in days," Cloud went on, face emotionless. "Why don't you just eat something? It's not like starving yourself will help..."

Riku snorted. "I can handle starvation," he said easily.

"No you can't," Aerith said flatly. She was now tearing the toast into bite sized pieces, easier to fit into Riku's mouth then him eating right off of the whole slice. "From the looks of things, you haven't had any food in quite some time." She smiled, not in a boastful way, but friendly. "Besides, it isn't like we've poisoned the food."

I wouldn't put it past these people, Riku thought grimly, but aloud, he only said, "I don't care. I'm not eating a thing."

"You'll die," Cloud pointed out dully, and Riku was too busy glaring at the wall to notice his hand slowly slipping towards the plate.

"So?" Riku said. "Not like you ca--mmpf!"

Rather abruptly, a piece of toast was shoved into his mouth. Choking a bit, Riku tried to spit it out. He would have succeeded if Cloud hadn't clamped his hand over Riku's mouth, keeping it shut, and using the other hand to pinch his nose. Riku's hands grappled at the older male's hands for release, but Cloud held fast.

After a few moments of silent struggling, Riku finally gave in. He gave the toast in his mouth one chew and swallowed it. He choked a bit, shaking his head as Cloud finally released him.

"See? That wasn't so bad," Aerith reassured him.

Riku rubbed at his mouth, his expression anything but soothed.

"Look, kid," Cloud said, "you can either feed yourself, or I'll feed you. Or I'll get Leon in here, if you want... and compared to him, I was being gentle."

Riku sighed, a silent war raging inside of his head. He wasn't even sure why he was debating over something so simple. It was stupid, really, but his stubborn side wouldn't let it go.

If you don't eat, they'll make you anyway.

I don't want them to think they can just make decisions for me!

It's just food!

It's the principle of the matter!

No, you're just being stupid! Take the damn food.

No!

Yes!

"Riku?"

Riku's thoughts were interrupted, rather rudely, he thought, by Aerith's gentle voice. She was still holding the bowl of oatmeal in her hands and was looking expectantly at him with bright green eyes. Disappointed in himself, Riku felt himself cave in.

"...whatever," he muttered unhappily. As Aerith beamed, Riku shifted and Cloud slowly lifted his hands from Riku's shoulders to allow the teen room to sit up comfortably. Aerith handed him the bowl and slowly, very slowly, he brought the spoon up to his lips and ate a bit of the oatmeal which, he found, was tinged with the sweet taste of brown sugar.

Cloud finally relaxed back into a chair, head tilted back and closing his eyelids softly as Aerith supervised Riku. He had been up guarding the castle entrance all night, just in case Sora tried a break in to save his silver-haired friend. But they hadn't found any sight of him. The guards had reported letting in a stranger at some time during the night, but Yuffie had taken care of him.

At least, Cloud hoped Yuffie had handled it. You never could tell with that girl.

Riku had now finished all but a few bites of oatmeal (there wasn't much in there, Aerith thinking too much would make Riku sick) and his caretaker was now pushing the plate of toast towards him, which he grudgingly accepted. He was careful not to eat it all, despite the fact that hunger was practically tearing him apart. He wouldn't give these people the satisfaction of knowing that Riku needed what only they had to offer. Which, at the moment, was food.

Quite good food, actually. But then again, after practically starving for seven years, even dirt started to taste good.

Riku had just finished his first piece of toast, and Aerith trying to bribe him into eating the second, when the door opened a tiny bit and a voice asked: "May we come in?"

No, you can't, Riku thought icily, abandoning the toast in favor of taking a sip of the orange juice being pressed into his hand by the brunette.

Aerith, however, said, "Come in!"

The door swung open, revealing four very... odd... individuals, I guess you could call them. There was one smirking duck, who looked extremely smug as he glared at Riku, hands on his hips, another duck who had a long pink gown on him and was eyeing Riku with a scrutinizing stare. There was a mouse with a crown perched atop her head, blue gown on, and looking at the teen with something akin to curiosity.

And then there was the object of Riku's hatred, King Mickey himself, who was smiling quite happily as he said, "G'mornin'!"

Riku inwardly groaned, sinking in his position a bit. They were going to give him his sentence now, while he was in bed. Well, wasn't this all fine and dandy?

"Is this him, then?" the female duck asked, eyeing Riku wearily.

Riku said nothing, calmly resting his head back and staring up at the ceiling as if he hadn't a care in the world.

"Yup," Mickey said cheerfully. "So, Riku, feelin' any better?"

"I was," Riku said idly, "until you came in."

Donald's smug gaze hardened into one of rage. "Hey! You watch your mouth!" the magician snapped. "Show some respect! He's your king!"

Riku expected King Mickey to agree with his cohort, to demand that Riku not speak so rudely to him. But instead, King Mickey only laughed. "Oh relax, Donald," he said. Donald just huffed, crossing his wings over his chest and tapping his foot impatiently.

Aerith was now cleaning up the breakfast things, returning the plate and bowl to the tray along with the half empty glass or orange juice. The milk remained on the bedside table, in hopes of Riku involuntarily picking it up to take a drink. In his weak state, the teenager needed all of the energy he could get, including calcium.

"What are you all here for?" Cloud asked, not bothering to look up. "What happened?"

"Nothing!" Donald cried, arms flying up to emphasize this statement. "And that's the problem!"

"Donald, calm down!" the other duck reprimanded sharply, hands on her hips as she glared at Donald. "Show some manners!"

"Yes, Daisy," Donald grumbled.

"We were hoping to have a ask him a few questions," the queen said politely to Cloud. Eyes turning back to Riku, who was ignoring all those around him, she said, "You're Riku, right?"

"No," Riku commented dryly, gaze never leaving the ceiling. "I'm the new court jester. Surprise."

"Keep it up, and you will be the new court jester," Donald warned, eyes narrowing, voice completely serious.

Riku paused, and then finally lowered his eyes to bore hard into Donald, treating the duck to his most frosty glare that caused Donald to gulp and take a hasty step backwards, but he looked no less stubborn. "I'll die first," Riku hissed.

"You seem to have a lot of suicidal tendencies," Cloud commented in a bored voice, leaning forward on his chair to rest his chin in a cupped palm. He didn't say so, but Riku knew he was talking about how Riku has almost choked earlier.

"That wasn't me!" Riku growled, eyes flashing in Cloud's direction. "You tried to kill me!"

"Wasn't my fault," Cloud pointed out. "You wouldn't eat. I just helped you along."

"You were suffocating me!"

Cloud just shrugged.

"If we're done, and ready to act our ages...!" Aerith said. As all eyes were drawn to her (except Riku, who had gone back to ignoring the world around him), she said, "Your Majesty, is there something you wanted to tell us? If not, I'd rather have a more... quiet environment."

"In other words, you all need to shut up," a stoic voice said from the hallway. "This is a hospital wing, not a party."

Even Riku looked at the newcomer, who now stood in the doorway, leaning against the wooden frame with his arms crossed over his chest and one leg tucked behind the other. His dark brown bangs swept over his stormy gray eyes as he eyed Riku suspiciously.

"Leon's right," King Mickey said. He had stopped smiling now. "Well, we came down here to ask Riku a few questions and..."

"And what exactly makes you think I'll answer them?" Riku asked blandly, raising an eyebrow is fake curiosity.

"Look, you can either answer our questions, or get thrown in the dungeon!" Donald threatened.

"Be my guest," Riku retorted. "As long as it's far away from you."

"Why you ungrateful little..."

"Enough!" the Mickey cried. "Please, just listen for one moment!" When there was silence once again, King Mickey continued. "Riku, I have... a deal for you."

At this, Riku smirked. "A deal?" he questioned. "Since when does the king make deals with thieves?"

"It doesn't matter who you are!" King Mickey huffed. "I'm tryin' to keep you outta jail, here, so listen up!"

Riku's curiosity was now nagging him to listen. A deal? Getting out of jail? Well, he'd certainly like to avoid being kept in a prison...

"I'm listening," Riku muttered.

Smiling in encouragement, King Mickey said, "Well, it's for both you and Sora, of course. And..."

"Hiya, Riku!"

Cloud slapped a palm to his forehead, Aerith sighed, Donald went into a fit, and Leon just... stood there... as three others skipped cheerfully in the room.

Riku's left eye twitched a bit.

"Just when we finally got him quiet enough to listen," Daisy sighed, shaking her head.

Heuy, Duey, and Louie all stood in the center of the room, grinning happily up at Riku.

"What're you three DOING here?" Donald shouted in aggravation, eyes bulging in their sockets as he stared down his three nephews.

"Heh, sorry, Uncle Donald!" Heuy said sheepishly.

"We just wanted to come in and tell Riku something!" Louie huffed.

"I don't care!" Donald snapped. "All three of you, get out of here, right now!"

"But it's important!" they all whined in union.

"No it's not!" Donald protested. "Nothing you have to say can be important to a thief, now go!"

"Oh, Donald, let them be," Donald said. To the three brothers, she said, "What is it you wanted to say?"

There was a pregnant pause in which everyone stared at Riku. The teen blinked, raising an eyebrow as the set of triplets looked up at him expectantly. "Um... yes?"

"How did he get in?" they chorused.

"How did who get in?" Riku grumbled, not in the mood for a guessing game.

"Sora!"

Riku felt a little piece of himself die inside as he echoed, "Sora?"

The one in yellow nodded happily. "Yeah!"

Riku sighed. " Sora isn't in the castle." With a pointed glare in Mickey's direction, he added, "And it's going to stay that way."

"We saw him last night!" the one in red protested, looking a bit proud. "He was dressed in this weird cloak."

"Yeah, he was with Yuffie!"

Everyone in the room who knew Yuffie had a look of dawning comprehension on their faces. Riku just looked as if he was about to have a heart attack.

"Yeah! And then he ran off!"

"Yuffie got Goofy to go with her and look for him!"

"Said something about wanting to do it alone..."

And just as Riku sat bolt upright, expression wild with a mixture of anger, fear, and apprehension, the loud thunder of footsteps came around the bend and into their ears.

A small figure stopped abruptly in the doorway, cerulean eyes wide. Spiky brown hair was even messier then usual, some strands sticking to his sweat-sticky face. His shirt clung to his skin, showing ribs, as his chest heaved while he tried to catch his breath.

Riku stared. No. Oh HELL no!

"Riku?" Sora cried.

And that's when he noticed everyone else standing i the room.

"Oh... heh heh... I guess this isn't a very good time to introduce myself, ne?"

And then they attacked.

End Chapter

I'd write more, I really would, but I have another story to write. Until next time, people!

Oh, by the way. I've started to interview authors. Like DigitalDreamer, Aoi Nikko, Dark Ki, ElequentAroo64, Slashapalooza, Vash's Girl, Chaos Sora 99... lots of people. Here are the sites:

www. freewebs. com/ffinterviewer

www. freewebs. com/ffinterviewer2

www. freewebs. com/ffinterviewer3

Enjoy! And REVIEW or no new chapter next week! I decided to make a fourth part, so yeah... just review.