Chapter Twenty Two: The Stage Is Set

"So, Amy's finally making her move. It's just like Roy told me a couple of days ago," I muttered, noisily sitting down in my chair. "This job's gonna get messy... then again, he DID promise me a ton of Munny. I would've done it anyways, but a nice paycheck is always good."

I looked down at my small map of all the charted worlds. It was crudely drawn, torn, and smudged, but still served its purpose.

"If Amy is in the Realm of Darkness, that would be the best place to attack," I thought aloud. "She'll probably be expecting a full-frontal assault and have more Heartless than I can count waiting. Then again, she might be anticipating me anticipating her moves, so a full-frontal assault could be the best idea."

Strategy is confusing...

"Do you need some help?" a familiar voice asked.

"Oh, what's up, Roy? Don't tell me Amy's made even more moves," I said to my red-coated friend. "If she does, it's possible we won't be victorious."

Roy laughed at me.

"What? What's so funny?" I asked.

"It wouldn't matter if Amy made more moves. If we lose, that's it. We don't have a second chance this time," he said coldly.

"But you didn't answer my question!" I hollered at him.

"Well... her pawns have moved, and she could be close to securing a Queen..." Roy muttered.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Well... where I come from, there is a strategy game called... um... what was it again? I could never win..." Roy muttered, pacing around my shop for a minute. "Oh, yeah! It's called Chess!"

"How can you help with the strategy when you can't remember the name of a game?" I asked angrily.

"Sorry, Riku. But anyways," he said, "the Queen is the most powerful piece on the board. It can move in any way except a Knight; that is, vertically, horizontally, and diagonally."

"Shut up about your stupid strategy games! It's not gonna help with this!" I yelled, slamming my fist on the crude map.

"I think it will. Understanding strategy is key to any battle, be it single or massive," Roy said. "If you can understand strategy, a battle can be won before it is fought."

"So, what sort of strategy do you have in mind?" I asked him. "It's not like it'll help, anyways."

"Well, our Queen is off on his own, and he's got the King with him," Roy muttered. "A Knight, Bishop, and Rook are over here," Roy said, pointing to Disney Castle. "And here we are, a Knight and a Rook. We don't have any Pawns, so we're lucky we haven't lost any promoted pieces yet."

"Wait. You said there were two Knights and Rooks, but only one Bishop. What about our other Bishop?" I asked him.

"You've got a point. I know about one..." he muttered, "but I'm not too sure he'll be willing to help us. He's even lazier than me."

"Jason. Jason Rashar," I said quietly. "But he's so weak! He couldn't hold a candle to our strength, and in a game like this, it's strength we need!"

"You'll come to realize that he's strong... when he wants to be," Roy said. "He IS a Keyblade Master, ya know."

"Okay. Try and get his help. In the meantime, I'll look for Sora and Kairi," I said. "And... take out one of Amy's Knights."

"Xehanort?" he asked.

"Yeah..." I muttered, looking down.

"You're going to face an inner demon," Roy said. "It's tough. Believe me... especially since Xehanort once had a grip on you. His darkness can never be fully purged from your heart, so promise me one thing."

"What's that?" I asked, looking up at him. Roy was standing at the open door with his back to me.

"Don't lose the most important thing: your self," he said, walking out into the empty town. "I have something to take care of real quick. Go ahead... do what you will. Just don't get yourself killed."

He pulled a silver cloak out of the small bag tied to his belt, then put it on. He walked off into the distance.