Greg: Okay, here's the deal. I'm sorry I haven't been updating, and I said last time that I would update sooner, which didn't happen, but please forgive me. School is getting in the way, not to mention my life too. So, there's a couple of things different about this chapter. 1) It isn't nearly as long as the last two or three. 2) There is no flashback, due to the late-ness of this chapter. I'm trying to get it up as soon as possible, so the flashback will have to wait until next chapter. 3) And the character parts are a lot shorter, which hints back to number 1. So, again, please forgive me and I'll try my BEST to get the next chapter up soon. It will be longer next time, trust me.
Greg gripped the Amulet of Promise Keyblade, also known as the Oathkeeper, tightly as he waited for Jason to move. His heartbeat began to increase and sweat began to form along his brow. He frowned, knowing what this meant.
Whenever he would face a friend in a game of sorts, these effects would come over him; increase in heartbeat and sweating. For some reason, he couldn't help but hold back when he fought his friends. It was something that he disliked.
Jason smirked, noticing that Greg kept wiping his hands on his shirt, obviously trying to get rid of the excess sweat. "He's getting nervous." Jason chuckled to himself. "I told you, you make the first move." He called out.
Greg wiped his hands one last time, before gripping the Keyblade and rushing off toward his opponent. As soon as he was in range, he raised the Oathkeeper over his head and brought it down. Jason quickly brought his Buster Sword up to block the on-coming attack. Greg stepped back and attacked again, aiming for Jason's legs. His opponent's blade was forced into the ground, blocking Greg's second attack.
Greg straightened his form and was preparing to step back, when Jason's foot slammed into his chest, sending the young Keybearer to the ground. "Aww, down already?" Jason chuckled.
"Shut up, that was a lucky shot!" Greg growled, as he pushed himself up. He gripped his Keyblade with both hands and glared over at his opponent. "You'll have to do a lot more than that to keep me down."
"I'm on a whole different level than you, so I won't have to do much." Jason grinned. His grin only widened when Greg's glare intensified. But Greg calmed himself down and smirked.
"I'm pretty sure we're on the same level." Greg chuckled, as he rushed forward. This time, Jason did the same. To Greg's surprise, Jason ran with a great amount of speed, even though he wielded that large sword. Dragging the sword along, Jason brought the large weapon forward, causing it to rip up pieces of the castle floor along with it. Greg stopped immediately and rolled to the side, dodging a piece of the destroyed floor.
Greg frowned and jumped back. "That little trick he just pulled gave him some cover." Greg stared into the dust cloud, hoping to spot some movement. Suddenly, the dust cloud dispersed as Jason came sprinting out of it with his sword raised. Once in range, he brought his sword down on Greg. The young Keybearer, though he was shocked, managed to bring up the Oathkeeper just in time. The force of the attack caused Greg's feet to sink into the tiled floor, creating two small craters around his feet.
"Darn! He's fast and hits hard?!" Greg thought, as he struggled to hold off the large sword. He glanced up slowly, still trying to hold Jason's Buster Sword in place. Jason smirked at him and increased the pressure he was applying to the sword. Greg could feel his feet sliding back, ripping up the tile floor piece by small piece. Jason raised his sword over his head again and slammed it down on Greg's Oathkeeper, causing more pressure to be applied. Greg's legs nearly gave out, but he held on. Jason slammed the blade down two more times, but Greg still managed to hold on.
Jason raised the blade over his head quickly, not trying to give Greg the time to escape. "Not this time!" Greg pushed to the left with his right foot and rolled out of the way, just as Jason's Buster Sword hit the ground. Knowing that he would not make it in time if he charged him, Greg tossed his Keyblade at Jason like a boomerang. Unaware of Greg's last action, Jason is slashed on the arm by the Keyblade. The young swordsman winced in pain, but managed to release his Buster Sword from the ground. He could hear the Keyblade hit the ground behind him.
"At least I made a hit. Now, I just need to get my Keyblade back." Greg thought, as he prepared to make a run for the Key. Jason stepped in, between Greg's sights of the Keyblade.
"That was rather…stupid of you." Jason muttered, as he glanced at the newly born wound on his right arm. "But nonetheless, you made your first, and last, hit on me." His eyes met with Greg's. "This match is over!" he shouted, as he rushed forward.
Greg didn't know what to do. He had just thrown his Keyblade halfway across the room, like an idiot, and now didn't have anything to protect himself with. But through it all, he smirked.
Jason came forward, swinging his blade at his opponent. Greg dodged and made a mad dash for his Keyblade. Jason, without thinking, followed behind him. Greg dove for the Keyblade, grabbing it in his right hand, and rolled to his feet, just in time to block Jason attack.
"You're getting better at this." Jason told him, as he stepped back with a smirk on his face. Greg panted slightly and stared at the black haired teen before him.
Tami was standing on the sidelines, along with every Knight who was watching the match. In her hands were a bow and a couple of arrows. She thought it would be better if she carried around a bow and some arrows, instead of a sword, because she disliked fighting.
"Wow, Greg's really handling himself quite well out there." Tami said happily, as she jumped up and down on the tips of her toes. "Go Greg!" she cheered. Rebecca came up and stood beside Tami, holding a blue-ish white ice cream bar.
"The battle is still going on? I was positive my brother could handle Greg." Rebecca murmured between licks. She looked up at Tami with a smile to which she returned it with a scowl. "What?" Rebecca asked.
"Greg's a lot stronger than you think, Rebecca. He wiped out all of those creatures in the field outside of this city, remember?" Tami asked, as she folded her arms.
"How do you know he beat them all?" Rebecca asked, as she licked her ice cream bar again.
"Because I do, I just know he did." Tami replied, as she looked back out at the fight. Rebecca shrugged and shoved the ice cream bar into her mouth.
"Are you going to attack?" Jason asked, as he stared over at his opponent, the young Keybearer.
Greg opened his mouth to say something, but decided not to. What he really needed was a plan to help him win the sparring match, which he didn't have. "Okay, how do I win this? Uh…there's got to be a way… Wait!" Greg thought back to the day he fought the sea of black creatures, just outside of town. "If I can just figure out how to get the Keyblade to pulse, then maybe I can beat him. When it pulsed that day, I could feel energy flowing through me, and through the Keyblade."
Greg straightened his form, gripped the Keyblade with both hands, and closed his eyes. "All I have to do is make it pulsate… How the heck do I do that?!" He shouted through his mind.
"Call upon the power of your Keyblade. Once you do that, you'll have the power to win." Tony's voice echoed through Greg's mind.
"Okay, I'll try." Greg muttered. "Amulet of Promise, please grant me your power…" Greg stood there for a moment, but nothing happened. "It's not working!" he shouted out loud.
Jason smirked and rushed forward. "If you stand there, I'll kill you!" he called out, as he raised his Buster Sword over his head and brought it down.
Greg brought the Amulet of Promise up, blocking Jason's attack. "You won't be killing me today, I have something to do before I go dieing on everyone." Greg smirked, as the Keyblade gave a pulse. "And besides, this is just a sparring match." The young Keybearer pushed Jason away and stepped back.
Jason slid to a stop and gripped his Buster Sword with both hands. "Your Keyblade, it's pulsating." He muttered, as his Buster Sword began emitting a faint blue aura.
Greg muttered something under his breath once he realized what Jason was about to do. "Give it your best shot." Greg replied, as the pulsations of the Keyblade began to increase.
"Oh no, Jason is going to use that attack again." Tami murmured to herself.
"Well, it looks like my brother is the winner." Rebecca giggled, as she watched her brother prepare to attack.
"Well, this match is over." Jason grinned, as he raised his sword over his head. "Dragon Fang!" he shouted, as he slammed the sword on the ground, unleashing several sharp waves of energy that sliced through the tiled floor and headed toward the Keybearer.
Greg raised his Keyblade above his head. He then slammed the tip of the Keyblade deep into the ground. Greg's eyes widened as the power of the Keyblade was ejected in the form of a grayish white barrier that headed outward. The barrier ripped up the tile floor like it was nothing, and continued heading outward with no sign of stopping. Jason's Dragon Fang attack came in contact with the barrier, and was absorbed into it.
Jason stared at the barrier in shock. "How could that barrier cancel out my Dragon Fang?" he asked himself, as the barrier grew closer and closer. At the last second, Jason tried to escape its reach, but failed in the process. The young swordsman was hit by the barrier and thrown across the large room, crashing into the wall at the face end.
"Get back, everyone!" Tami shouted, as she made a run for it. She grabbed Rebecca's hand in the process, and dragged her along. All the Knights turned and headed for safety. Pieces of the tiled floor were thrown everywhere, hitting some of the escaping Knights. Tami looked back and noticed that the barrier had ceased its rampage, and was now returning back to its source.
The young blonde fell to the ground, panting heavily from her little adrenaline rush. Rebecca plopped down beside her, with her ice cream bar still in hand.
The barrier soon faded, leaving a large crater within the room. All of the Knights were amazed that a mere boy, a Keyblade Wielding boy, could cause so much destruction. The room seemed totally destroyed now. Pieces of the floor were thrown in all directions, some even soared into the walls of the area.
Tami stared over to where Greg was last seen, trying to see if she could spot him through the large dust cloud. She stood up and rushed into the cloud, looking for any signs of the boy. Finally, she found him. Greg was kneeling down, with his hands on the Keyblade, which was ejecting from the ground. His head was down, so Tami couldn't really see his face.
"Greg? Are you okay?" she asked, as she stepped closer to him. She then noticed that his clothes had been almost torn to pieces, and his body was covered in scrapes and small cuts. "Greg?" she called out again.
Greg slowly raised his head, with a smile plaster on his face. "Haha, I won!" he chuckled. He slowly stood and tried to release the Keyblade from the ground. Unfortunately, he had no energy to force it out of the ground, and Tami watched him struggle with a smile on her face.
"Let me help." She muttered, as the dust cloud finally subsided and she got a better view of him. She laid her bow on the ground and walked over to Greg and the Oathkeeper. She took it in her hands and helped him pull it out. "There." She smiled, as Greg took a firm grip around the blade.
"Thanks, Tami." He laughed nervously, as he stumbled back a bit. Tami rushed to him and helped him stand. "I guess that move I just did took a lot out of me."
"Yeah, you should rest now." Tami implied.
"Looks like you won the match." Jason smirked, as he walked toward the two, with Rebecca at his side. "But it looks like your little attack backfired a bit." He uttered, as he looked Greg up and down.
At a closer look, Greg and Tami could see that the barrier had done considerable damage to Jason. His clothes were practically torn to ribbons and his body was covered with cuts and bruises.
"Yeah, it looks that way." Greg chuckled, as the Keyblade diminished from his hand.
"Get him back to the Dinning Hall." Jason ordered. "I'm going to go get us a change of clothes." With that, Jason made his way to the exit.
"Well, you heard him. Let's get you back to the Dining Hall." Tami smiled, as she began helping Greg walk toward the exit. She stopped and looked back. "Rebecca, can you grab my bow for me."
Rebecca blinked, and then looked back at the bow lying in the middle of the crater. She nodded and went to pick it up. "I got it, Tami!" she shouted, as she sprinted to catch up with the others.
Riku and Mickey…
"Well, there it is." Mickey pointed into the distance. Riku narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better view. To his surprise, he could see the outlines of buildings in the distance. But what if the outlines were just illusions? Just a trick the desert heat was playing on them.
"What if it's just a mirage?" Riku asked.
"We won't know until we find out." Mickey replied. "We better get a move on."
"Yeah." Riku nodded, as he followed behind the mouse.
As they walked, the outlines of the buildings seemed to grow more and more visible. Soon, Riku and Mickey could see the royal city of Agrabah in their sights. But something wasn't right, and Mickey could sense it. The city looked as it always did, but there was something different.
"Something isn't right." The mouse muttered faintly, but loud enough for Riku to hear.
"What do you mean?" Riku asked, as he looked down at Mickey. "It looks fine from here."
"Just trust me, Riku. Everything may look fine, but something in the air tells me th-" Mickey suddenly pushed Riku back and threw himself forward. Just as the two of them flew in different directions, a weird creature leapt out from under the sand. The creature's head was wrapped in white bandages and it held a long sword.
"What the…?" Riku muttered, as he jumped to his feet.
"It's a Bandit Heartless!" Mickey shouted to Riku. "This must be why I sensed something wrong here." The Uranium Key appeared in Mickey's gloved hand. Just as his Keyblade appeared, several more Bandit Heartless leapt out of the sand and surrounded the two companions.
Riku summoned his Soul Eater without hesitation. "Looks like we have to fight them." Riku stepped back slowly, and then lunged forward, swinging his Soul Eater quickly. The Bandit Heartless he was attacking brought up his sword and blocked Riku's swing. The Heartless then swung at Riku, but the young Keybearer parried and then stabbed the creature in the chest. As the Soul Eater entered the Bandit's body, the Bandit dispersed in a black mist.
Mickey leapt backwards, into the air. "Strike Raid!" he shouted, as he flung the Keyblade at the Heartless. The Keyblade whizzed through the air, slicing down three of the Heartless. "Riku, we can't fight them all. We have to make a run for the city!" Mickey shouted, as he summoned his Keyblade back to his hand.
"Yeah, yeah…" Riku uttered, as he slid back into the sand. Just as he was about to lunge forward, another Heartless jumped out of the sand, with it's sword raised. Riku blocked that attack and stepped back. He then watched as the remaining Heartless dove into the sand below. "What are they doing?" he asked, as he looked around hesitantly.
"They're going to attack us from below. We have to make a run for it, now!" Mickey shouted, as he began sprinting toward the city.
Riku turned on his heels and sprinted toward the city as well. A Heartless leapt from the sand and tried to attack, but he rolled to the side to avoid it, and kept running. Just as it seemed that they were going to make it, more Heartless sprung out of the sand. "You've got to be kidding me?" Riku asked himself, as he slid to a stop.
"Riku, keep running!" Mickey called out, as he jumped over the heads of the Heartless.
Riku started to rush passed the Heartless, when several more Heartless sprung up. The white haired Keybearer growled, and prepared himself. He waited for the black creatures to make their first move, but they didn't. They seemed to be waiting for him to make his first move, and he did.
Without any sign of hesitation, Riku lunged forward and forced his Keyblade into one of the Heartless' body. Once it dispersed into a black mist, Riku rushed through, leaving the other Heartless to chase him. He could see Mickey in the distance, still running and urging him to hurry up.
Riku sped up as best he could, but it seemed like the Heartless were gaining on him. "Darn! All of this running and fighting is taking its toll on me." He uttered, as he looked back. When it seemed like the Heartless had finally caught up to him, a Keyblade flew by his face and cut several of the Heartless down.
"Hurry, Riku!" Mickey yelled, as he called back his Keyblade. Riku nodded and tried to run a bit faster, but he was too tired to do so. Mickey knew this, and rushed back for Riku. He leapt into the air, pointing his Keyblade at the Heartless, and released a large orb of light, which soared down and crashed into one of the black creatures. The light the orb emitted blinded the Heartless, and even managed to destroy two or three.
"Now's our chance, Riku! Let's hurry!" the Keyblade wielding mouse called out, as he turned and began running toward the city of Agrabah.
"Right behind you, Mickey!" Riku shouted in return, as he sprinted toward the city. The young Keybearer glanced back to see the Heartless wandering around in a daze. Though he could feel his legs about to give, he continued running.
Within a matter of minutes, the two Keybearers made it to the entrance of the city. Riku dropped down, landing upon the hot sand. He watched as several sweat drops fell onto the sea of sand below, and quickly dried up. He panted, struggling to get a good breath of air, and looked up at Mickey, who was leaning over trying to catch his breath as well.
"Mickey… we made it…" Riku muttered between breaths. Mickey looked over at him and nodded slightly.
"Yes, we did." He straightened his form and looked back out in the distance. The Heartless that were chasing them were nowhere in sight. "And it seems we've lost our friends." He looked back over at Riku. "But we can't sit and rest here. We better find somewhere safe."
"Yeah, you're right." Riku pushed himself up and onto his feet. Mickey nodded again, and headed into the city. Riku sighed and followed behind him.
Sora and Ravu…
Sora dropped to his knees and sighed in frustration. He knew now that learning something new wasn't always fun and easy to learn. It took hard work, concentration, and patience. Apparently, through Ravu's eyes, he wasn't making any progress with the Wind Slash technique, and it was becoming rather stressful on him. After all of his efforts to cut down the tree in the distance, he continued to fail.
Ravu had taken a seat in a grassy area, behind Sora, as so to watch him. She was not really sure he could use the Wind Slash, or not, but it was worth a try. Slowly, but surely, the attack increased in power each time Sora used it, even though Sora was wearing himself down. From Ravu's point of view, the problem is that Sora isn't able to control the wind force throughout the whole attack. Once he summons up the wind, and wraps it around his Keyblade, it slips away once he actually uses it.
A small smile graced the girl's lips, as Sora climbed back to his feet and attempted to use the attack again. She could tell he was growing tired, from how he was holding the Keyblade. Ravu laughed a bit, which caused Sora to look back at her.
"What's so funny?" Sora asked, as he raised an eyebrow.
Ravu shook her heard from side to side. "Nothing, Sora, nothing." She stopped her laughing, and looked up at the sky. "Just hurry up and learn this, okay? We have lots to do, you know."
Sora grunted and turned his back to her, placing both hands on the hilt of the Keyblade. He closed his eyes slowly, but kept them locked in position with the tree. He could feel the soft breeze rush across his cheek, heading toward the blade of the Keyblade. He could feel the wind wrap itself around the Keyblade. It was then, that he knew the Wind Slash was ready, but he didn't bother to open his eyes. He was going to make sure it worked this time, so he continued to gather more wind power.
Ravu sighed, shaking her head all the while. She realized what he was doing, and she knew the outcome of it. "Once the wind is fully wrapped around the Keyblade, there is no use in continuing to gather more wind energy." She muttered to herself. "But, he'll learn the hard way." She smirked.
Sora eyes flashed open, with a glint of hope. "Get ready to teach me that spell, Ravu, because I'm about to unleash a Wind Slash like never before!" he smirked. He rushed forward and swung the Keyblade through the air, with all of his might.
Just as the swing came to an end, Sora was blasted up into the air. Ravu watched, wide-eyed, as Sora flew through the air, in a spinning motion. Sora came to a stop in the air, and then came soaring back down. He then crashed onto the ground, twenty feet behind Ravu. The impact caused a small crater in the ground behind her.
By now, Ravu was rolling on the ground with laughter. She slowly rolled to the side and watched Sora climb out of the crater, limping. "Are… are you okay?" she asked, trying to hold in her giggling.
Sora moaned, then fell to his knees. "My… my back…" he moaned, as he fell onto his stomach.
Ravu shook her head again, and laughed. "Sora, you called upon too much wind energy for the Wind Slash. You aren't strong enough to handle that type of power." She exclaimed.
Sora frowned and looked out at the lake in the distance. Why couldn't he use the Wind Slash? Why was it so difficult for him? He closed his eyes and decided not to ask himself any more questions.
"Maybe you should take a break, Sora. You've wasted so much energy on that technique already." Ravu said, as she leaned up off of the ground.
Sora used his arms to push himself up to his knees, with his bangs fully covering his eyes. He held the Keyblade to his side, gripping it tightly. Suddenly, he punched the ground with his left hand, which shocked Ravu. "I… I can't take a break… I need to get stronger…" he muttered softly. "For… for Kairi…" Images of the night he received the Keyblade began to appear in his mind. He saw those men again, the men that kidnapped Kairi and took her away.
Ravu watched as Sora slowly got to his feet and gripped his Keyblade with both of his hands. He pushed his legs apart slightly, and leaned forward a bit. "Those men… I have to get stronger, in order to save her from them…"
"Sora…?" Ravu mumbled, as she got to her feet.
The wind around them slowly started to pick up, as if a storm was about to roll in. Ravu could feel it drawing towards Sora's Keyblade, the Kingdom Key. Suddenly, in a burst of power, a cyclone of strong winds appeared around Sora. The burst of power blasted Ravu twenty yards back, but she quickly got to her feet.
"Sora!?" she called out in amazement. She could actually see the wind wrapping around the blade of the Kingdom Key. "He's… he's got it…" Ravu muttered to herself.
Sora slowly raised the Keyblade over his head. As he did that, the wind around him grew stronger. His eyes widened and he slammed the Keyblade on the ground, all while yelling "For Kairi!!"
Ravu was completely astounded. Once the Keyblade made contact with the ground, a large wave of wind energy emerged from it. She could see it clearly, as it cut through the grassy field, eating away at the ground. The large wind force continued to cut through the ground until it hit the lake, where it sliced the lake right down the middle.
"…" Ravu just blinked in amazement. She couldn't believe he actually pulled off the Wind Slash. She looked over at Sora, who was still holding his position as if he was still releasing the slash. "Sora! That was absolutely amazing!" Ravu shouted, as she rushed over to him.
"Yeah…" Sora muttered, as he cracked a grin. He slowly fell forward and hit the ground, not even attempting to catch himself.
"Are you okay, Sora? I told you, you should have taken a break. You've just wore your body down." She said softly.
Sora peeked open one of his eyes and smiled. "Food…" he mumbled, with a slight chuckle. Ravu sighed and smiled to him.
"Looks like it just made you hungry." She replied, as she got to her feet. "Just rest here, I'll get you some food."
Section 18 Rambosan Base…
Olivia walked into the room and took a seat behind the large desk in the room. She put her hands on the desk and began tapping her fingers. She was nervous, having to report that the rebels kidnapped the princess, along with their second prisoner. It was hard enough dealing with defeat, but having to be yelled at about your failures wasn't going to make her feel better.
She sighed loudly, reached for the phone, and dialed the number to the main headquarters. The phone rang for a moment, and then a voice could be heard on the other line.
"Yes, may I help you?" asked a voice. The voice sounded feminine, so it obviously belonged to a female.
Olivia took a deep breath. "Yes, Colonel Bridges, reporting in abo-" the women on the other line cut her off in mid-sentence and began speaking again.
"Yes, Colonel Bridges, we've already been told about your incident at Section 18. General Robert has already been given the details of the matter." The lady implied.
Olivia's eyes widened. How did General Robert know about what had just happen moments ago? She couldn't have possibly made it back to the main headquarters already, could she?
"What did she say?" Olivia asked, as she continued to tap the desk with her fingers.
"She wants you to take care of the wounded first, and then head for Sector 5." The woman replied, as if reading off of something.
She stood up immediately after hearing her command. "What? Why Sector 5?" Olivia asked in confusion.
"I don't know, Colonel. But that is what General Robert wants you to do. If I were you, I'd do exactly what she has told you, no questions asked." The woman said.
Olivia sighed heavily. "Yeah, I'll head to Sector 5 as soon as I'm finished here." She muttered into the phone. Without giving the woman time to reply, she hung up the phone and sat back down in the chair. "Why Sector 5? There never anything going on there…" she mumbled to herself.
She decided not to think about it for too long, and then exited the room to help treat the wounded soldiers from the battle.
Kairi and the others….
Tifa rushed through the door of a small, stone-build house. "Hurry!" she cried, as she turned to urge the others to pick up their pace.
Kairi was the first to head through the door, followed by Aerith. Leon, Cloud, and Vincent guarded the door from the Heartless that had followed them, while Yuffie made her way into the house.
"Come on, you three!" Tifa called out, as Yuffie ran passed her. Leon gave a nod to the others, and then stepped back, turning to rush into the house. Cloud and Vincent quickly followed behind him. As soon as they passed the door, Tifa slammed the door shut. "That was close!" she said, as she leaned back against the door.
"What is going on here?" a voice asked. Everyone turned to see an old man sitting at a desk, in the corner of the room, reading a book. The man had a long, white beard and wore a blue wizards cloak, with a hat to match.
"Nothing at all, Merlin! Just playing hide-and-seek with the Heartless!" Yuffie joked. The old man, by the name of Merlin, looked over at Aerith.
"I see your mission was a success." He smiled, and then looked at Kairi. "And it seems you got something extra out of it. What is your name little one?" Merlin asked, approaching Kairi slowly.
"Uh…Kairi, sir." Kairi replied quietly, but the man heard her loud and clear.
"Ah, Kairi is it? Well, I'm Merlin, owner of this home here and a master in the art of magic." Merlin chuckled.
"Yeah, a real master at it." Leon said sarcastically, as he folded his arms and leaned against the wall.
"Now, what's going on here?" Merlin asked, looking around at the others. Finally, Tifa stepped forward and explained the whole situation. "Ah, so you were kidnapped by the Rambosan Army? And your friend is the Keyblade Master? This is very interesting…" Merlin began walking around the room.
Kairi sighed heavily. She wanted to go home, back to Destiny Island, where everyone else waiting for her. She wanted to be with her friends. She wanted to be with Sora…
"So, what do we do?" Yuffie asked, as she finally sat down in one of the chairs in the room.
"Well, there is nothing we can do right now. She'll just have to wait with us until we know what to do." Leon turned to Kairi. "Is that okay with you, Kairi?"
"Yeah, it's fine." Kairi muttered, as she looked at the floor. Tifa came over and placed a hand on her shoulder. Kairi looked up, teary eyed.
"Don't worry, Kairi. We'll get you back to your friends, I'll make sure of it." Tifa said softly. Kairi couldn't help but smile; Tifa's words had given her a bit more hope. "Now," Tifa stood up straight and looked at the others around the room. "What are we going to do about that base?"
"Well, we will probably need a plan." Yuffie implied.
Tifa blinked. "That's why I asked, Yuffie." She shook her head from side-to-side.
"It's simple…" Cloud stated, drawing everyone's attention toward him. "We attack while their defenses are down. The right time to do that is now."
"Cloud's right." Leon added. "It's best if we go on the offensive on this one. With Aerith safely here, we can go all out."
"Sounds like a good plan to me." Yuffie pumped her fists into the air. "Let's get to it!" With that, she charged out of the room.
"Kairi, you stay here with Merlin and Aerith, we'll be back shortly." Tifa implied, as she rushed out the door with the others behind her. Kairi replied with a simple nod, and watched them exit the house.
Greg: I know this is no way to end a chapter, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Don't expect another battle coming up soon, if my planning comes out right where I want it to. Please, R&R and let people know about this story.