"Is this the right place?" Aerith asked looking ahead. She read a half destroyed sign. "Hollow Bastion."
"A lot changes in 14 years."
"Changes, this place was neglected. I wonder if Ansem still lives here."
Riku wonder the woods manoeuvring through the heavy fog. He knew his father was here he felt it. He pushed the branches and leaves out of his way he would find his they would be father and son. He noticed ahead a man with long silver hair. Was this...
"Dad?" Riku asked cautiously approaching him. The man turned around looking behind Riku another man got Riku from behind.
"Dad help me!" Riku struggled.
"What's your name?"
"Riku." He said elbowing the man behind him in the stomach viciously. Sephiroth watched Ryu fall to the ground. Riku took out his sword threatening Ryu. "I've been searching for you now I've finally found you."
"Do you know how to use that or do you just flash it around?" Sephiroth taunted.
"Let's find out." Riku smiled. Riku ran full force ahead charging for Sephiroth he suddenly fell to the ground.
"How did you-"
"Maybe you could be useful with some training."
"Useful for what exactly?"
"Stay close to me." They began exploring the jails. The men starred at Aerith as they walked past. Snow had covered most of Hollow Bastion 3 years ago it all melted and collected in the jail cells making the cells smell musty.
"Look there he is." Aerith began walking faster to get to him. "Ansem?" The man was sitting on a mattress his eyes closed then slightly opened when he heard a familiar charming voice.
"Aerith and Cloud you have returned to Radiant Garden."
"What happened why are you in jail?"
"My experiments the people blamed me for the darkness for the creatures they believed if I was no longer roaming freely and studied my experiments the creatures would disappear the world's would rejoin. After the snow began to fall it covered most of Radiant Garden making it dangerous to come to the jail. So we were left here, here I have waited. I do not blame them for hating me they are right to my experiments caused this chaos I should have realised. You can not understand the heart or darkness some things we are not meant to understand some things are too great I realise this now."
"Do you know how to get rid of them?"
"Only the keyblade warriors can banish them the chosen wielder of the keyblade of lost hearts the one chosen to open the door can stop this."
"There has to be something else."
"You would have to understand darkness understand how it is born. It's too complicated too dangerous if you open yourself to darkness it can destroy you."
"There will be a war on that day they will fight one side will prevail. The battle the world has been fighting since the dawn of time darkness versus light. Thousands will stand against millions. Will the light triumph can they defeat him?" A man said sitting in his cell a hat covering over most of his face.
"Defeat who?"
"Sephiroth the one winged angel, ain't back isn't he."
"He'll be defeated again." Cloud said.
"You are too sure of that, before it was all just a game there were so many times he could of killed you it was so easy but he didn't because he enjoyed annoying you messing around this time it's no joke this is about power, he wont lose again he can't he'll kill you if you're not careful." Hearing this struck worry through Aerith's heart.
"Who are you?"
"I guess you can't remember me I've been sober for 12 years not by choice of course but still I've been sober."
"You're that guy from the hotel."
"Yes I am misses Benny's my name."
"How is it Benny you know so much about the future?"
"I have seen things, that's why I've been put here, a crazy drunk they thought let's lock him up. I says to them...um...I mean I told them what I saw how I knew and they says that fellows a loon dunno what he's talking about...I mean they said I was certifiable...guess the sayings true old habits die hard so use to speaking like that. But that fellows right misses if you open yourself to darkness you become it, darkness embodies you." He looked at Cloud his expression telling him he knew things that happened like he was there in the underworld he knew about what happened with him and Tifa. He wouldn't tell Aerith it wasn't really him he didn't want it to happen it just did. It was the darkness it suffocated him taking over. Cloud stopped looking at him his gaze fixed to the ground.
"How have you seen it?"
"This reminds me of when I got thrown in here. Well you see I saw it in my mind."
"You saw it in your mind...okay...well I can understand why you were put in here now."
"He's got a son you know." Benny
"Who has?"
"Sephiroth, he's a bit older then Sora and Roxas almost a spinning image of him. That's why you felt you couldn't really trust him he has Sephiroth's blood running through his veins. What's his name? Riku is it?"
"How do you know my sons names?"
"I've told you I've seen things."
"Why would you have visions of-"
"Because they will be in that war they will shape the future they will fight against Sephiroth and his son, Sora and Roxas are two of the keyblade bearers."
"How would-" Benny interrupted Cloud.
"Through his cells."
"Yeah mom said we were Cetra we can heal ourselves and other using the lifestream."
"Maybe we could bring back Donald and Goofy." Sora stayed quite.
"I think you still need to be alive for that to work." Roxas became quite.
"Oh..sorry..." He saw the pain in his brother's eyes he now wished he'd stayed quite. "Tell me more about these keyholes so each town has one?"
"Yeah I think so that's how the heartless and shadows enter the worlds. If we seal them then maybe the planet will join together again we wont be separated anymore. Who knows maybe the stolen hearts will return."
"Maybe...so any idea where Kairi and Riku are?"
"No but I hope they're okay."
"They have to be I mean if Kairi's with Riku she's got nothing to worry about right?"
"Oh...yeah right." Sora said slightly bitter.
"What?"
"Nothing just thinking that's all." Roxas finished his dinner throwing the container into the fire.
"We should find somewhere to sleep before it gets too dark."