Looking back on what happened, I can see that the entire thing was carefully rigged just to bring me there. I can't blame them – they had good reasons, even if I didn't understand them at first.
They'd existed for years without ever letting anyone found out, but when they needed someone to save them and turned to me, they deliberately broke that. They even specifically sought me out and had me go to their village to ensure they'd get me.
Well, now they had me. Unlike usual, I got up early the day after that visitation. I spent most of the morning in the lobby thinking over what the stranger had said while I waited for the others.
I was adamant about one thing – I would not let them do whatever it is they wanted to do to me, even if it meant coming up against them.
It seemed clear though that their Chief was the one to talk to. If the visitor was any indication, none of the other residents would talk about or admit it.
Kairi told us she wasn't feeling well, so Goofy stayed with her while I went out with Donald. I filled him in on what had happened last night.
"Do you really trust him? He could have been anyone."
"I don't think he'd lie to me, Donald."
"You don't even know him."
"I know. Call it a hunch."
"So what now?"
"We talk to their chief, of course."
"You don't even know where to look."
I winked at him and stopped a passer-by. "Excuse me. I'm looking for your chief?"
"At the end of this road, on the left," she told me. "It's the one with the apple tree. You can't miss it."
"Thanks."
"It is no trouble for you, Sora," she replied, ducking her head slightly and then leaving.
"How did she know your name?" Donald mirrored my thoughts. The visitor had evidently let the other locals know about me, it seemed.
"Probably overheard someone talking about me," I shrugged and headed down to see the chief.
Donald shook his head. He's never really trusted coincidences like that.
The chief turned out to be a tall man with grey hair, up a ladder in the apple tree. Despite his hair, he wasn't actually all that old. He had a lean but well built frame, a sharp, almost fierce expression, and looked like he could outrun a cheetah, and wrestle an elephant and win.
"Have an apple," he called down as we approached, seemingly knowing we were there. I caught mine, but Donald fell over trying to catch his.
"You're the chief."
"And you're Sora. You're a young one, aren't you?"
"Not that young... I want to know what's up with that guy who visited me last night."
"Kadach. I asked him do visit you. In the circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to come to you directly."
"Yeah, but why?"
"Because we need you, Sora." I said nothing, waiting for him to say more. He shook his head and continued, "All I can tell you is that we're in danger, and have no one else to turn to. No more."
"I can't help you if you don't tell me what the problem is."
"Kadach already explained that to you."
"I won't do it."
"Then you condemn us to die," he told me, shaking his head sadly. "Good day to you Sora. You know where to find me if you should change your mind."
"I'm not going to change my mind."
"Sora, wait a moment," he called me back. "Kadach told you something else too."
"He threatened to go ahead with whatever it is you want to do if I didn't do it."
"That's not what he meant. I told him to tell you that if the risk to us became too great, we may have no choice but to insist, but that we would regret having to do so."
"Just you try it, and see what happens."
"No, Sora. If you are so set against it that you're willing to oppose us, then we won't force you into it. The danger to us is great enough that we cannot afford another opponent, particularly one such as yourself."
I didn't bother to reply to that. It wouldn't have done much good. He wasn't going to explain anything to me, and I wasn't going to extend myself to him.
"At least you got some straight answers out of him," Donald said finally as we left again.
"No, we didn't... all we got was confirmation."
"And some apples."
"Yeah."
"Hey, don't go all gloomy on me Sora," he told me. "There's got to be something you can do, right?"
"If you find it, let me know, won't you? I don't think I'm going to have any luck here."
"It's not like you to give up so easily."
"I'm feeling a bit tired."
Donald looked at me sharply – this had been the same complaint Kairi had.
He insisted we go back to the hotel, then left again almost immediately to find us a doctor. He didn't find one, but he found an herbalist who claimed to be able to identify what was going on.
Like the chief, he had a lean but strong look to him. Unlike the chief, he'd opted not to shave, giving him a dense black beard.
Kairi didn't trust him, so I got examined first. After he'd examined us both, he murmured something to Donald and just left again.
"What did he say?" I asked him.
"Not to let you leave. He just said he'd handle it."
"Seriously? I'm not going to stay cooped up in here. I've got to do something."
"How about stay here and rest then?"
"Nice try, Donald."
"On your own head then," he muttered.
He didn't have to stop me though. The receptionist on duty stopped me instead.
"You mustn't leave, Sora," she told me. "I can't let you until you get better."
"Why not?"
"It... might be contagious." Even I couldn't miss her hesitation.
"Oh, really?"
"Please don't make me force you to remain here. It is for your own safety."
I wasn't feeling in any condition to argue with her. I just seemed to be getting more and more tired. Kairi more so, she'd been affected by this before I had.
Sleep is usually a good cure for being tired, so I went back to my room and tried. You know when you want to sleep but can't, you're just lying there wondering if you're asleep yet or not? That's how I ended up.
I can't tell you how long I laid there for before I heard the commotion. It sounded like an argument at first, or at least a heated discussion.
There was a window in my room, but for some reason I'd never looked out of it until then. I could see what was going on from it.
I could see the chief's house from it, and I could see him, backed by several other locals, confronting some people that clearly weren't locals.
They wore only black, and not the same kind of black that I wear either. In a way, they resembled Roxas when he'd been a part of that organization, but it seemed somehow more... morbid. As if they were already dead or something.
They were making demands of the chief, waving arms threateningly. The chief remained adamant, crossing his arms defiantly. He never once raised his voice, but spoke firmly and clearly.
I examined the window, but it was the kind that can't be opened, so I couldn't find out any more.
The chief finally seemed to react, waving a hand at two people behind him. I couldn't believe what I saw. They seemed somehow to become a kind of hybrid of wolf and human. What was going on here?
Whatever they were, they towered a good few feet over everyone else, baring their teeth and claws. Not the kind of opponent you want to come up against, let alone two of them at once.
They bore down on the strangers. The one leading them did something I couldn't see, somehow throwing one of the hybrid things down the street. The other hybrid got to some of the strangers. It made a strange attack, like an uppercut but at a different angle and making full use of the claws. It impaled a stranger on it's claws, making him writhe, then seem to explode into dust. This was almost stranger than watching them turn into these... things.
The hybrid that had been thrown then joined the first, but the chief reigned them in. He said something to the remaining strangers, who left him with one final message, then turned and left.
As they left, I came to notice something. I was starting to feel better with every step they took away from this town.
They paused on the way out though. Their leader had a few words with one of the others, who disappeared, then they continued onwards.
Where did that one go?
Right behind me.
I hate it when someone stares at me from behind. It's unnerving, but at least I knew he was there.
Something blocked me from summoning my keyblade, which is unusual. It made this guy laugh a cruel, chilling laugh.
"Save it," he told me. "You'd better save that energy."
"What for?"
"Leave, while you still can. This isn't your fight."
"Oh yeah? Who says I haven't already got involved?"
"Those dogs stink of what they are. You don't."
"Dogs?"
He laughed again, "They haven't even told you, have they? You don't know a thing about what's going on." He shook his head, then continued, "No matter. Before long it won't matter at all."
"Wait. Just who are you, and what do you mean by that?"
"Allow me to introduce myself," he said with a bow. "I am Commander Valgor, the second in command to my Master, and it is he who has tasked me with eliminating every last one of their kind. I've already dealt with their allies elsewhere... now they are alone. This little town is the last of them."
So now I knew what these guys wanted my help with. These weren't ordinary enemies though – the little display that had thrown one of the hybrid things around like a rag doll was proof of that.
This of course set them off on the wrong foot with me right there and then. He'd just told me he was going to kill the lot of them, and if I let them, whatever they were would become extinct.
I couldn't have that.
"So what if I decide to stop you?"
"You?" he laughed again. "You, stop me? Don't make me laugh. Even if you were one of them, you'd stand no chance. I'd have to get rid of you with the rest of them."
"I won't let you do that. To them or me."
"Are you challenging me?"
"No. I'm stopping you. You'd better leave now – before the locals find you're here. All I have to do is tell them you're here, and they'll be here to get rid of you, the same way that one down there did your friend."
"Friend," he spat. "He was an egotistical little troublemaker, and I'm better off without him."
Dissent in the enemy ranks. Nearly always a good thing. It makes them so much easier to combat, because none of them want to work with each other.
"Friend or not – they'll do the same to you."
"So maybe you do know something after all... very well. I take my leave... but I warn you, Sora. Get in my way, and I will strike you down with the rest of the dogs."

Enough for now. It's getting late here, and I want some rest. If by some means you've read this far and want to hear more from me, you'll have to wait until I write it. I guess if you somehow manage to leave me a note asking me about something, you're welcome to. I'll try and read it if I can find it.
-Sora.

A/N: In other words, if you've got a question, drop it in a review and I'll get him to write you an answer. Don't expect too many spoilers from it though.

And yes, I'm aware my first person writing attempt isn't all that good still. I'm trying to work on it. Sora's head isn't one I can get into easily. Besides, he pushes me out again. Blame him.