Hello, readers! Sorry for the delay; I've had a busy week, and then suffered a period of no Internet connection. But I'm back, and with a new chapter to add to the story!

Also, thanks a lot for all of your reviews. As always, it's good to see my work going over so well with so many people!

Well, you've waited long enough. Let's find out what happens when Sora meets the mysterious woman...

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Quickly, I texted Donald and Goofy, barely taking my eyes of my target. She had a drink but had barely touched it, and was surveying the scene casually, perhaps looking for someone like Hayner. I frowned. What did she want these people for? Was she a kidnapper, or something else?

Goofy, fortunately, was not long in coming, and somehow managed to make his way through the throng of dancing people to my table. "Hey!" he called.

"Hey." I responded.

He took a seat. "So, you found her?"

I nodded in her direction, and he looked over. "Wow," he said after turning back to me. "Good work, Sora. You found her."

I shrugged. "Any of us could have done it." I looked back at her. "Now, we have to decide what to do."

"Wait for her to leave, and follow her?" suggested Goofy.

I frowned. "Too risky. We may only have one shot at this." I bit my lip. "I'm thinking of just going up and talking to her."

Goofy raised his eyebrows. "Talking to her?"

I nodded. "It shouldn't raise too much suspicion. A man going up to a young woman to chat her up? It'd be more suspicious if I didn't."

Goofy looked over at her again. "Okay, you can try. But…" He hesitated. "Just…be careful. We don't know what she did to Hayner."

"I know. That's why I've got you—and Donald, when he gets here—to watch my back." I smiled at him, then stood up and, heart pounding, walked over to her. Her head turned slightly in my direction as I approached, and she fully faced me when I said, "This seat taken?"

She shook her head, and I sat. "Come to places like this often?" I said, trying to give off the impression of someone trying to pick up a girl.

"Occasionally," she said, her voice mildly muffled by the scarf.

I surveyed her. Up close, I could tell she was wearing a good deal of makeup. I gestured to her scarf. "Cold?"

"A little." She adjusted her sunglasses. "And then I have these damn things. I have to wear them for a certain period of time." She looked at me. "You got any eye problems?"

I shook my head. "No. I managed to dodge those." I grinned. "What's your name?"

"Iris. Yours?"

"Dave."

Okay, either she was lying about her name, or there just happened to be two people with the same physical description who went to bars on the weekend with sunglasses and scarves. And yeah, I was lying about my name, too, but until I knew more about this woman, I was giving her no information about myself. Well, except for my eye information. But millions of people had no problems with their eyes. Telling her that was harmless.

I look back on that now and laugh. How little I knew.

"Where are you from?" she asked.

"I live over in Brooklyn. You?"

"Queens."

"Born and raised?"

"No, I was born in Minnesota."

I raised my eyebrows. "Minnesota? That's a long way."

"Yes, but I'm getting along well here."

"Good."

She raised her wrist and pulled back her sleeve slightly to show a wristwatch. "You know, I think I've kept these on long enough," she said, reaching up to her sunglasses. I felt myself tense; Pence had said that Hayner's attitude had changed after Rose/Iris took off her glasses and scarf. What was she hiding? If it was anything, that is.

With a hand that I noticed was rather pale, she pulled off her glasses and opened her eyes. At first, I got quite a shock: her eyes were a vivid red, almost matching her hair exactly. What was that about?

But then, I relaxed. It was probably just the light. It just…didn't seem right for there to be anything wrong with Iris.

I frowned. When did I start thinking of her as Iris?

"That's better," she said, looking at me. "You don't think there's anything strange about me, do you?"

I blinked, feeling dazed. The day so far must have worn me out…I had done a lot, after all. "No, no," I assured her. Actually, now that I looked closer…no, her eyes weren't red. They were just a magnificent shade of violet. How pretty…I could look into those eyes for a long time.

"Good," she said. "And I think I'm warm enough." She took off her scarf and smiled. I thought I saw something funny then, but… "I look fine, right?" she said. "Perfectly normal."

Her voice was a sweet melody. Normal? She looked fantastic. "You look great," I said earnestly, smiling broadly.

"Why thank you," she said, and leaned forward. "I do love meeting new people."

"So do I." I laughed, feeling giddy.

She continued to smile, and I felt myself more and more drawn to her. How could I have ever suspected her of having something to do with Hayner's disappearance? Something probably happened to him on the way to meet her.

I frowned. Hayner… That's right, I was supposed to be investigating his disappearance. Well, this was perfect. Iris could tell me what had happened, or at least what she knew. Yet this little part of my mind seemed to be nagging at me, though for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why.

"Is something wrong?" asked Iris, noticing my frown. "You can tell me."

"Well…" Surely there couldn't be any harm in telling her what I was doing? "I'm a private investigator, looking into the disappearance of Hayner Michaels. Did you meet him last Friday?"

She looked surprised. "Why, I did."

"Yeah, I heard you did," I said. "So I've been looking for you for a while, in case you knew something."

"Knew something? You don't suspect me, do you?"

Her face had a pleading look to it, so I hurried to dispel her fears. "No, no, of course not. But he went to meet you, and vanished. You might have seen or heard something."

She nodded. "You're right, I might have. You're an excellent investigator, Dave."

The fake name created a stab of guilt. Why had I lied to her? "Oh, thank you, but my name isn't actually Dave. It's Sora."

"Sora? Well, that's a much nicer name than Dave."

This woman sitting across from me was kindness and beauty personified. "Oh, thanks," I said, smiling still more broadly. "Your name is very pretty, too. Iris. Like the flower."

Flower…The word seemed to trigger something in my mind. Something else about her…and another flower? It didn't make sense, so I pushed it aside.

"Well, thank you, Sora. Now, about Hayner…" She thought, and I waited patiently. "Oh, yes. You know, I think I can help you out. Why don't we recreate the scene from last week? Come visit me in Destiny Park, tomorrow at three o'clock." She smiled. "I'm sure you've already figured out that that's when we were due to meet."

"Yes, I have," I replied, feeling quite proud of myself. I had known that, hadn't I?

"And I'll bet you've been running around these past few days to work out this case. Very busy, with no time for yourself, just to relax?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I've been doing a lot."

"Well, why don't you take a break, then. Go home, relax, get some sleep. And I'll meet you tomorrow at three, and we'll do some more work on this case. Together."

Together… Could anything be better than teaming up with this goddess? Sure, Donald and Goofy had tried, but they had mostly just tagged along with me. I was the one who had gotten most of the work done, right? But Iris…Iris had some real promise. "I'd love to," I said.

"Excellent." She stood up, and I rose with her. "Well, I had better be going. But remember, I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's keep this rendezvous to ourselves. It'll be like a secret adventure." She grinned. "But a secret's no good if you tell it to everyone, right?"

"Yeah, of course," I agreed. A secret adventure? And I thought she couldn't make being with her more exciting.

"Great. Then I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Okay, Iris!"

With a final smile, she wrapped the scarf around her face, donned her sunglasses, and left.

I stood there for a moment, watching her, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Sora?"

I blinked, and turned to see Goofy looking at me, a hint of worry in his face. "You okay? What happened?"

I smiled. "She thinks she can help me. She…" I broke off; I had been about to tell him about our arrangement. Our secret arrangement.

"Help? How?"

I thought quickly. How could I throw Goofy off without telling him? I could lie…

A part of my mind seemed to rebel furiously against that concept. Goofy was my friend. I shouldn't lie to him.

But then again, I had lied to Iris at first, too. Come to think about it, I hadn't told her at all about Donald and Goofy. Well, then, if I could keep information from her, I could certainly keep it from Goofy. "I can't tell you right now."

Goofy frowned. "Why not?"

"Oh…you'll find out." That didn't have to be a lie; I could tell him after our meeting.

"Find out?" Goofy looked really concerned now, though I couldn't guess why. But before he could say anything else, Donald emerged from the crowd, staggering slightly. "H-hey, guys," he said. "Heard that Sora found Rose?"

I frowned. "Rose? You mean Iris?"

Donald turned to me. "Iris?" He looked unsteady. Had he gotten himself drunk? That was quite irresponsible of him. Was it any wonder I preferred Iris's help?

"Looks like she's using a different name," said Goofy.

Donald snorted. "Another flower? How cliché."

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Goofy turned to me. "Sora, don't you remember? Rose was the name she used when she met Hayner."

I blinked. Rose? "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Pence told us, remember?"

Pence? Oh…I understood. "He must have gotten the names mixed up," I said. "Rose, Iris…they're both flower names. In fact, I bet he saw her red hair, heard a flower name, and came up with Rose."

Donald raised an eyebrow. "What? Sora, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said. "I didn't go out and get drunk, like some people." I glared at him.

His mouth fell open. "Wha…? I'm not drunk."

"You're unsteady. You sure seem drunk."

"I may be a little tipsy, but I still have my mental facililties intact."

I snorted. "Mental facililties? You can't even say it right."

"Oh?" Donald took a step towards me. "Why don't you criticize me again? Then you won't be able to say many things right." He held up a fist.

Goofy stepped in between us. "Guys, guys, don't fight here. Let's take it easy."

I looked disdainfully at the pair of them. "Yeah, let's go home. I've been working hard enough today. I need some sleep."

"I'll put you to sleep, Sora," said Donald threateningly.

"Donald, cut it out!" said Goofy. "I think…" He glanced at me, then whispered in Donald's ear. The music prevented me from hearing what he said, but I did see Donald blink and frown, then look at me. "You sure?" he said.

"He might," said Goofy. "He's been acting strange ever since meeting with her."

Were they talking about me? "What are you talking about?"

Goofy looked around. "Let's step outside."

I wasn't sure if I wanted to; the place reminded me of my meeting with Iris. It seemed so long ago, now. But Goofy was firm, so I followed him out of the nightclub. "What's your problem?" I asked.

Goofy looked directly at me. "Sora, what happened during your meeting with Iris?"

"Good to see you getting her name right," I said. "She was very nice, and, like I said, very helpful."

"Helpful how?"

"I told you, you'll see."

"I'll see? Sora, you're not acting like our partner."

Donald nodded, and stepped up to me to look into my eyes. "What did she do to you?"

I pushed him away. "She didn't do anything to me." I glared at them. "Except be a lot more helpful then you've been."

Goofy looked hurt. "Sora, we've been doing the best we can. This is a hard case."

"Well, maybe your best isn't good enough."

Donald stepped forward. "That does it." He swung a fist at me, and caught me on the chin. I staggered backwards, my jaw hanging loose. "You want some more?" he asked.

I looked up at him. Goofy was holding him back, but he was trying to get free. "No," I said. "I don't want any more. Of you at all."

With that, I turned on my heel and marched off. "Sora!" came Goofy's call from behind me, but I ignored it. I didn't need them. What had they done? Followed me around while I did all the work. Anyone could do that. But Iris was planning to help me, actually help me. And I would much rather have her at my side than Donald or Goofy. I shook my head. Goofy. The nickname should have been an automatic tip-off; he wouldn't be any help at all. And Donald seemed to be content with grumbling, complaining, and getting drunk. Well, he could do that all he wanted now. I was going in a new direction, and it didn't involve them.

I arrived back at my apartment and got ready for bed, but had a hard time getting to sleep, thinking about my meeting with Iris tomorrow. I couldn't wait.

The next day, I woke up at ten, feeling good about the day. Today, Iris and I would get to the bottom of Hayner's disappearance. I took my time getting ready, making sure that I looked my best for my meeting. It wasn't for another several hours, but you could never be too early for these things. I spent almost an hour trying to get my hair to lie flat before giving it up, and trying to make it look as good as possible sticking up. I picked out my nicest clothes, and put on a bit of cologne. Finally, a hearty breakfast to face the day: oatmeal, toast, and a banana, with orange juice to drink.

Unfortunately, by the time I was done, it was only just noon, with three hours to go until my meeting. I was just wondering what to do when there came a knock on my door. My heart leapt: had Iris decided to meet up early? I ran to the door and opened it, only to find myself face-to-face with Riku. I struggled to conceal my disappointment, but then again, at least it wasn't Donald or Goofy. "Riku!" I said. "What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd stop by," my friend replied. "You looked disappointed when you opened the door."

I shrugged. "Sorry. I just…thought it might have been someone else."

"Iris?"

I looked up at him. "How'd you know?"

"Donald and Goofy mentioned her."

My face darkened. "So, what, you're here because of them?"

"No, I'm here to check things out for myself. They said they were worried about you, and I decided to come by and see how you were doing."

I shook my head. "You shouldn't have believed them. They couldn't investigate their way out of a paper bag."

He blinked, and shrugged. "Regardless, I thought I'd pay a visit. Mind if I come in?"

I thought for a second. I didn't want Donald and Goofy checking in on me, but Riku didn't seem like his being here was entirely for their benefit, and I did need to pass the time until three o'clock. "All right." I stepped back to let him in. "Well, then, how are you doing?"

"Fine," he said as I shut the door. "A bit of a lull in the cases right now."

"Oh? Well, I'm coming along pretty well with mine…without the help of Donald and Goofy."

"Really?" he said. "That's good to hear." He sniffed. "Is that cologne?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd…you know, liven things up a bit."

"Okay." He changed the subject. "So, I'm curious about this Iris. I heard that you met her last night and really hit it off."

I nodded eagerly. "Yeah, she's really nice. And pretty. I'm…" I broke off, having been about spill the beans about our meeting yet again. What was wrong with me? She had told me not to do it, and I couldn't follow one simple request? "I'm, uh, really eager to see her again."

"Hm. You've made plans, then?"

I shrugged and did not answer. "Ah, so it's a bit more complex than that," said Riku. "Right, then. Well, what did you find out about her? What does she like?"

I thought. "We didn't exactly talk about that."
"What did you talk about?"

"Well, I mentioned what I did, and she seemed interested."

"You told her about your job? Did you mention Donald or Goofy?"

I shook my head. "She doesn't need to know about them."

"No, she doesn't…Did you mention your childhood at all?"

"No, I didn't."

"Hm. I was just remembering something we did when we were younger."

"What's that?"

He looked at me. "Do you remember my dad teaching us a special technique to ward off hypnotism and brainwashing? He gave us both a special word that would snap us back to reality if we ever fell under the influence."

I thought. "That does sound familiar. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "It just came back to me, that's all. Do you remember your word?"

I frowned as I thought back. For some reason, that part of my memory was fuzzy. "It must have slipped my mind. But I'm sure it'll come back to me if I ever need it."

"Well, that's just the thing," said Riku. "If we were ever under the influence of something, or someone, we would forget it, until it was uttered again, and it would trigger something in our brains."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you are no longer master of your own kingdom, Sora."

Kingdom…kingdom… The word seemed to resonate in my head. I felt unsteady, and blinked several times. Something wasn't right…no, something wasn't right at all. A small part of my mind seemed to be getting louder and louder. This wasn't me. This acting strangely…berating Donald and Goofy, obsessing over some woman…it was wrong. It was all wrong. She must have done something to me, Iris…but that wasn't her name, was it? First Rose, now Iris…she was just using the names of flowers as cover names. But why? What was she hiding?

Then, I remembered something else. Without the influence of her spell, I could recall clearly and accurately the details of our meeting last night. Her eyes hadn't been violet, they had been red. Blood red. Her pale skin and makeup on her face…and then, something about her mouth…

It hit me. "Oh hell," I said.

"Back with us?"

I blinked and turned to Riku. "Yeah, I am. Thanks, Riku. Thanks a lot."

He grinned. "Just looking out for my friend."

I grabbed my phone. "Unfortunately, we've got bigger problems now," I said, hitting one of the buttons on my speed dial. After ringing once, Goofy picked up. "Sora?" he said, an uncertain tone to his voice.

"Goofy, hi," I said. "Look, I'm really sorry about last night, but I know what's going on. Are you with Donald right now?"

"Yeah, we're both at the office."

"Then come over to my place. Oh, and thanks for sending Riku."

"He was able to help?"

"Yep. See you in a bit." I hung up.

"What's going on?" asked Riku.

I turned to him. "Do you actually have a lull in your cases, or was that just something you said?"

"No, it's true, more or less. Why?"

"I may need your help."

"What with?"

"This case." I smiled wryly at him. "Get out your crosses and garlic, because we're dealing with a vampire."

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And there we have it, folks: a vampire. But what has she done with Hayner, and what might she do to Sora? Tune in next time to find out!

Also, to make up for my delay, I'm going to try to get another two chapters posted in the next two or three days (but no promises). I've already got a draft of the next chapter written, and part of the one after that.

Hope you enjoyed!