2. Press Conference

Had the sky been clear, dawn would have just broken over the crash site. All of the fires had been extinguished, so most of the volunteers had gone home. The police had set up a temporary fence around the entire area to keep out the locals, who had begun to gather at the edge of the field. News crews had just started their on-the-scene broadcasts from right next to the police barricade. One crew went around pestering Air Force officers for information, but every one of them had "no comment."

Sora made a mental note to thank the police for getting the fence put up so quickly. He couldn't stand being hounded by the media at his every turn. It was especially bad when he was somehow involved in a recent event, such as being near a car crash or attending local summer festivities.

Or being on-site at a suspicious Gummi ship crash.

He had spent the last few hours going over the data provided by the black box. He was exhausted, cold, and hungry, but he had come to a conclusion. The pilot had entered the atmosphere at too steep of an angle, likely in an effort to save precious time for his wounded passenger. However, the small ship hadn't handled the violent atmospheric transition well, and the maneuvering Gummis failed early in reentry.

That much was obvious. What was odd was the fact that the ship had very nearly recovered and then plowed into a soybean field soon after. Sora and General Harris were debating whether or not to tell the public immediately.

"The Air Force has a reputation of honesty, Sora. I don't want to lose it over one crash."

"I know; it's just… what will people think? Will they lose their minds when it seems that the Heartless are back with a vengeance? Maybe we should look into this some more before we tell everyone."

Harris sighed. "We could do that, but what purpose would it serve? All we'd find is more evidence pointing to the Heartless. If we tell them that there was a crash caused by the Heartless, they'll be more ready if the Heartless actually are attacking. Ready…readier? More ready? Which one is it?"

Shrugging, Sora allowed a small smile to creep across his face. "I wouldn't know. If you ask Kairi, it's a miracle that I can read."

The general smirked at Sora's comment. "Yeah, that sounds like her. But seriously, we need to make a decision soon. The media will be attacking us if we don't divulge some information at some point."

Sighing, Sora could see that there was no point in keeping secrets anymore. "Alright. I can't find any more arguments against it. Do you need me to go on camera with you?"

Harris shook his head. "No, all I need is an official statement from you as an expert on Gummi ships. Here, I'll get you some paper."

As if summoned by an invisible signal, an agent appeared next to the general with a notepad and a black pen. Sora accepted them and began to write his conclusions down. When he finished, he tore the page out and handed it to Harris.

"There you have it. Wings ripped off in the upper atmosphere. G-forces killed passenger, who turned into a Heartless soon after. Pilot was about to make a recovery when he was killed by the Heartless. Supersonic impact killed everything on board, human or not. That's all we know."

The general skimmed over Sora's messily written note. "Alright, this should cover us for at least a couple of days. Thanks again, Sora. I'll have a car take you home." The agent escorted Sora to another black government car and opened the door for him. As he took his seat, he noticed the crowd along the fence had grown considerably in the early-morning hours. The news crews had Sora especially worried. He leaned up next to the driver.

"Um, is it okay if you don't take me through-?"

"We're heading out of here on the opposite side from the crowd. This is as close as they'll get." As he finished his sentence, the driver pressed on the accelerator and the car lurched forward, bouncing over the rough dirt and plants. Sora looked out the back window with satisfaction. That crowd wasn't going to annoy him today. He sat back in his seat, shifted a bit, and fell asleep.

***

Kairi was only vaguely aware that something was different about her room. In her in-between state, her senses couldn't identify exactly what was different, but she was certain that something had changed overnight. She opened her eyes slowly. Well, if something had changed, it wasn't the ceiling. It was the same light yellow drywall that had been there for three years.

She clenched her hand and felt the blanket's soft fabric in her palm. The sheets hadn't been pulled off, which accounted for a good deal of her "different" feelings. Something was definitely off-base.

Pulling herself up, the source of her feeling became instantly clear. She was alone in her bed. Where Sora's spiky brown hair should have been, there lay a small piece of folded paper. She reached over and opened the note, recognizing Sora's sloppy handwriting. When she finished the note she groaned and fell back onto her pillow.

Got a call around 2 this morning.

Gummi crash near Anchor Point City.

May be late in coming home.

Love you.

Sora

Last time he was called out to investigate a crash, it had taken him fourteen hours to get home again. But then again, he had taken her to a very nice dinner later that evening, so maybe this wasn't so bad, after all.

Her spirits lightened by the thought of reimbursement later that day, Kairi swung her legs over the edge of her bed and stood, wondering what to wear that day. Unlike Sora, there was no "throwing something on" for Kairi. She took her appearances very seriously every day, whether her plan was to go to the city with Selphie and Olette, have everyone over for a barbeque, or merely sit around all day doing nothing. How Sora could not care about his clothing was a mystery to her.

After ten minutes had passed, Kairi walked out of her room, satisfied with her appearance. Just as she was walking down the staircase, she saw a black government car pull into the driveway. She looked at a clock. 7:15. This was… early. Oh well. She'd likely get an excited explanation from Sora.

Unlocking the front door, she waited for the car door to open. When it didn't, she saw the driver turn around in his seat and reach into the back. Soon after, a groggy Sora appeared from the car, still yawning. He shook his head, making his hair twist around and spring back to its normal state. Kairi had always liked it when Sora did that. For some reason, she found it very humorous. If he was close enough to her, it ended up tickling her face. And, if she was precisely the correct distance away, she swore she could hear a faint whistling.

She giggled as her sleepy husband almost lost his balance as he stepped onto the concrete drive. It was a mystery to both of them as to how Sora could perform stunning combat maneuvers with the Keyblade and still manage to have trouble balancing sometimes.

As Sora stumbled into the house, Kairi barely managed to catch him as he fell once again. She lifted him to his feet and looked at his clothes with disapproval.

"Oh, you're all dusty again, Sora. And what's that smell?"

"Burning soybeans and Gummi ship fuel."

Kairi held her nose and laughed as she turned away. "It's terrible! You are not coming in this house smelling like that!"

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you want me to do? I have to come inside somehow."

Searching her mind for a suitable changing location, Kairi settled on the garage. She pointed with her free hand, still holding her nose closed. "In there. I'll bring you some new clothes. When you change, make sure to let these ones air out. We don't want a repeat of the molasses plant incident."

"You loved that smell!"

Kairi put her hands to her hips. "It was only good for the first two days. After a week it was too much. Plus, you didn't smell like rotten dairy substitute in an oil refinery. I'll have your clothes in a moment." She turned and rushed up the stairs, eager to get away from the terrible smell her husband had brought home.

Sora, on the other hand, stood in the doorway, perplexed. "She told me I smelled like a gingerbread cookie. How could she get sick of that smell?"

***

Once Sora had changed into the outfit Kairi had tastefully selected for him, he had gone straight to the couch and fallen asleep. Suspicious of her husband's idea of letting his garments "air out", Kairi had gone to the garage to find Sora's old clothes lying in a pile near the large two-car door. Even though he was twenty-one, he was still incredibly lazy.

Kairi went to pull her shirt over her nose only to discover that she was wearing a V-neck. She rummaged around the garage until she found a bandana along with some of Sora's old playthings he was saving in a plastic trash bag for any future family the couple might decide to have. She tied it around her head, allowing it to cover her nose and mouth.

Satisfied that her nose was sufficiently shielded, she set about hanging Sora's clothes onto various things around the garage. When she was finished, she opened the garage door just enough to allow some fresh air in. As she went to put the bandana away in the bag, she heard the sound of metal hitting concrete.

She looked down and saw the toy revolver the three friends had used when they played Outlaws. Memories flooded back to her. She usually ended up playing the damsel in distress while Riku or Sora played the villainous desperado and the other played the heroic town sheriff. But they allowed her to wield the toy gun occasionally, and she was ruthless. She liked to hit the innocent shopkeeper on the head if he didn't comply with her demands immediately.

Holding the toy out in front of her, she pretended to aim at a young Sora, who had his hands in the air, a look of faux fright on his face. As she pretended to take bags of money from him, the older Sora opened the garage door and saw Kairi wearing the bandana over her face and wielding the revolver in a frightening pose.

He suppressed a laugh at the childish scene in front of him. "Oh no, is Outlaw Kairi here to steal all my money?"

She turned to the garage door, revolver in hand. "I just might."

"I just might let you." Sora winked, making Kairi blush. She was thankful that it was mostly hidden by the bandana. "I just hope the town sheriff is close enough to save me!"

A hush fell over the couple. Sora felt his heart sink. Kairi lowered the gun and put the bandana and the toy weapon back in the plastic bag. Breaking the silence once more, Sora began to explain his presence to Kairi.

"Harris is coming on TV in ten minutes to make a statement. I thought that, you know… you should probably hear it, because, uh… you'll probably get dragged into this one, too. So… I'm… yeah. Okay." He turned and left the garage, Kairi following quickly behind him.

The press conference had just begun once they sat on the couch. General Harris and a spokesman were fielding questions from reporters.

"What caused the crash?"

The spokesman looked at Harris, who gave a small nod. Turning back towards the crowd, he said, "A Heartless on board attacked and killed the pilot at an altitude of approximately fourteen thousand feet."

The crowd murmured amongst themselves. The Heartless? There hadn't been an incident in almost ten months. People were beginning to believe the worst was over. Another reporter took advantage of the commotion to ask his own question. "How did the Heartless get on board? Did it stow away?"

"One of the passengers had suffered injuries from a Heartless attack earlier. The intense G-forces of uncontrolled reentry killed her mid-flight. She transformed into a Heartless just as the pilot managed to regain some measure of control of the ship."

At this, the crowd completely lost control. People began shouting questions left and right.

"What consequences does this have for Gummi travel?"

"Will you be updating the Orbital Defense Network to cope with this new threat?"

"Is there any current research into this 'zombie Heartless' phenomenon?"

"Does this mean that the Heartless have evolved?"

Harris saw the crowd losing control and decided to step up. "Alright, settle down. Settle down! We can't have a panic erupt in here.

"As far as we can tell, this is an isolated incident. There is no evidence to support any theories at the moment, but we have no reason to believe this is a widespread phenomenon. There are no reports of it happening on the remaining worlds we're in contact with. If it really was an isolated occurrence, all potential vectors for further 'infection' were destroyed in the crash.

"Now, there are people in this room who have survived Heartless attacks. None of you are in danger. This goes for anyone who has been a victim of a Heartless attack in the past: don't go clogging our hospitals by demanding a checkup. You're not going to become a Heartless.

"As for the consequences this has on Gummi travel, we will be taking the necessary precautions against letting anyone who has been a victim of a recent Heartless attack go directly to the surface. They will dock with an ODN platform and undergo a comprehensive physical before they are allowed to land. However, we lack the manpower to step up patrols without hard evidence that this is a true threat to Aegis.

"Bottom line here: Take this at face value. There was a Gummi ship crash. They happen all the time. The only reason anyone is taking interest in this is because of the connection it has to the Heartless. There is no evidence to connect this to an increase in Heartless activity in the area. If evidence does surface, we will adjust our stance accordingly. That is all."

With that, the general picked up his papers, put his cap on, and walked off-camera.

***

"We'd love to, Kairi! We may be a little late, though. Friday's the day we go cake tasting, so we might be as late as seven. Will that work? Okay. Should I bring anything? Bottle of wine, perhaps? Okay, if you say so. I'll se you there. Bye!"

Olette hung up the phone and smiled. Even while wrapped up in the biggest crash investigation in Aegis history, Sora and Kairi could still have a barbecue with their friends. She wasn't completely sure how they could keep enough time open for it. Maybe these things were more important to islanders. Maybe they were just insane.

Whatever the reason, it lifted Olette's spirits considerably. Hayner had spent all day indulging in paranoid fantasies that the Heartless were going to invade again, which was beginning to annoy her. She had put her foot down when he began making Molotov cocktails in the kitchen. Yes, Hayner, fire is effective against Heartless. That doesn't mean you need to go making bombs in our kitchen! Are you insa- no, don't answer that. And wipe that grin off your face.

She sighed. As charming as her fiancé could be, he was completely paranoid. While it was irritating more often than not, it had saved them once before. In the middle of the night, he had awoken to a tapping noise outside their apartment window. Olette had assured him it was just pigeons. But Hayner, being paranoid, investigated with a butterfly knife in his hand. When he exited his room, he found a pair of thieves attempting to pick the lock on the balcony door.

So now Hayner had something most paranoiacs would kill for: proof that his insanity was not just his mind playing tricks on him. Unfortunately, he always used that incident as justification for his irrational actions. But homemade firebombs were too much. He had seen the press conference. There was nothing to be worried about.

She walked out of the kitchen to find Hayner drinking a beer, looking into the last rays of sunset. As she sat down next to him, he set the bottle on the table. He looked back and forth between Olette and the sunset before laughing quietly.

"What is it?"

"You match the sunset. You're both very orange." He brought the bottle to his mouth and tilted his head back, draining the remaining contents. He set the empty vessel on the ground and leaned back in his chair. "And very pretty."

Olette blushed and tried to hide it with a quick scowl. "Are you drunk?"

"This one here's numero uno."

"Good, because you need to remember this. We're going to Sora and Kairi's for a barbecue after cake tasting on Friday. So try not to completely fill up on cake. All you need is a sample. Don't go trying to steal entire slices."

Hayner grinned. "When have you ever known me to overeat?" Seeing Olette's look, he quickly amended his statement. "Okay, when have you known me to overeat when Sea Salt Ice Cream isn't involved? Besides, Sora's barbecue is amazing. I don't get it. The guy can barely tie his own shoes, and he can cook a full slab of ribs to absolute perfection."

The couple shared a laugh at their friend's expense. They both looked back out over the sea, where the sun had just dipped below the horizon. The stars were beginning to emerge overhead. Though it was only nine thirty, the city was beginning to slow down for the day. Traffic noise gradually died down, police sirens were less frequent, and there were fewer jets in the air, civilian or military. This was one city that did sleep.

Olette leaned over and gave Hayner a small kiss on the cheek. He was about to return it when a light in the sky caught his attention. He pointed it out to his fiancé.

"Look, Olette. It's a shooting star. Make a wish, quick!"

She was about to wish that Pence wouldn't be busy on Friday night when she noticed that the shooting star was lasting a really long time. In fact, it looked like it might crash into the ocean.

Both of them watched as the streak of flame impacted on the water several miles from shore. Within minutes, the area was surrounded by Navy ships, helicopters, and news crews, both airborne and in smaller civilian ships. As they watched in awe, Hayner vocalized the fear that had gripped them both.

"Oh, no. Another one."