Hello!

Now that school is done, I'll have a bit more time to write. Yay! :D Graduation went smoothly and everything is all good again.

This is actually a repost. A glaring error, caught in Hana's dialogue by Karise-Paisley, has been rectified (thank you VERY much, by the way), as well as other small changes being made, since I didn't proofread this one very well the first time around. Nothing which impacts the story, of course.

Drop me a review, please. Read on. :D

"You don't even know how glad I am," Yuffie whispered, "that we're here."

Sora shushed her, his eyes zeroing in on the village, his focus tangible. Kairi?

Yes?

Can you see us?

Silence. Yes.

Is it safe to go into the village?

There are Adherence members stationed at intervals around the village. Four groups of two. Oh, be careful, Sora! Her voice sounded fraught with worry.

"Kairi says there are four groups of two enemies stationed all around the outside of the village," Sora relayed quietly to Yuffie. "What do you think we should—"

"I hate it when you do that," Yuffie interrupted a bit louder than she should have. "Talk to the others in your brain. Why can't you use the walkies?" she whined.

Sora stifled a laugh. "Yuffie… calm down. It's just quieter and a bit faster for communicating with Kairi. Let's talk about how we're going to handle those enemies."

She gave him a disbelieving look. "Sora, I'm a ninja. I think that makes me the best assassin here right now."

He couldn't contain his smirk. "Assassin? I don't know if I'd go that far."

If looks could kill, Sora would have been finished then and there. Never had he been on the receiving end of a glare as powerful as Yuffie's. "I suppose you wouldn't say no to a little contest, then," she challenged through gritted teeth. "Eliminate them all. Whoever kills the most is the winner."

With a soft chuckle, Sora slowly shook his head. "No, we'll stay together for now. When this is all over, though, we'll have that competition, okay?"

She set her jaw and remained silent, which Sora took to mean that she wasn't happy about it, but she knew that he was right. "I've got something to ask Naminé first, though. Hang tight for a minute."

Naminé?

Yes, Sora? Thankfully, her reply was swift.

If we pick off the guards here one at a time… will any of them be able to raise an alarm to the others? It would certainly not be helpful if they had that ability.

As far as I know, if you're sneaky enough, they shouldn't have time to. I have faith in both you and Yuffie.

With a grin at Yuffie's pouting, Sora informed her, "We have clearance, let's move."

"So, you'd have no trouble locating that planet again?" The look on Ran's face was tight and severe—even if Korin thought it impossible, she doubted that she would have answered negatively. Intensity in her eyes, Ran stared at Korin roughly, absolutely demanding an answer.

Almost taken aback, Korin swallowed quickly, momentarily petrified by Ran's glare, and managed to reply confidently, "Yes. With a snap of my fingers."

She didn't smile, but the dynamics in her eyes changed—if her face didn't give away her feelings, that triumphant glint behind the charcoal black did. With a clench of her fist, her knuckles popped, and Korin bit back a cringe. "We can carry out the plan, then," Ran declared determinedly. "They won't guess a thing until it's too late, and I doubt they'll fight. It's the perfect trap."

"I agree completely," Korin smiled winningly. "It's brilliant!"

"I have outdone myself, haven't I?" she contemplated quietly. "Either way, we have them, and there's nothing they can do about it."

Korin bit her lip. 'Nothing' was a bit strong… after all, she had been taken completely off-guard by their will to fight and their drive to kill. Riku had single-handedly disposed of many, while Akiko and her friends could account for many of the others. Cloud and Leon had done their share of damage, as well, but… the only of the heavy-hitters that could follow them where they were going, she supposed, was Riku.

The fighters were independent in nature, as Ran had assured her many times over the past few hours, and they would come alone. Allowing others to stand for them, with them… it was something they simply did not do.

"I'm really glad you're with me, Roxas," Naminé whispered. It meant a lot that she said it out loud—they were in a high danger area, just miles from the castle, slinking through the trees and coming upon a strange aura she didn't recognize.

The goofy grin that spread across Roxas' face couldn't be subdued. Thankfully, she was focused on the task at hand, and didn't notice. "I can't even… I'm so happy you're here…" he trailed off, murmuring softly in her ear. "You're…"

With a small smile and a blush, she shushed him gently. Thank you.

It's true, he assured her. What's the plan?

We go into the village, eliminate the guards, and steal the sphere, she broke it down for him. We'll follow the aura—can you feel that?

Barely.

She gave him a cheeky, teasing look. Concentrate.

He stuck out his tongue at her, but closed his eyes all the same, and inhaled deeply. The scent of the wilderness as they lurked in the woods was almost overpowering. Leaves and budding flowers emitted fragrant perfumes, each distinguished smell mingling into the exact aroma he remembered from years ago. After seventeen years, and after everything had changed… nothing had changed. His mind began to wander aimlessly as he thought of nothing in particular, and at first, he didn't notice the small buzzing against his internal magic. With every moment, the feeling grew more invasive, feeling as though magic that was not his own was infiltrating his body. Momentarily paralyzed, he had no clue how to react. His fists clenched, and his shoulders began to tense up.

Naminé's small hand on his shoulder brought him back to attention. Are you okay?

He nodded. Fine. You're right, all I needed to do was concentrate…

With the corners of her mouth upturned, she raised a snarky eyebrow, which plainly said, 'I told you so'. She motioned with her hand for him to follow her, and they were sneaking again around the trunks and between the branches. Leaves that filled the treetops were so thick that sunlight couldn't find a way through, but Naminé maneuvered gracefully and silently despite the dimness.

From the edge of the forest, a large village was in sight, and the aura of the sphere was stronger than ever. Naminé and Roxas looked at each other, unsure of the best way to tackle infiltrating the village and locating the sphere.

Disguise, Roxas suggested, smiling deviously.

With a grin and a wave of her hand, Naminé and Roxas changed. Her bright blonde hair was replaced by a mousy brown that most citizens had—fear was too great to have blonde or black hair anymore. Roxas' was changed to a similar muddy chocolate, and their clothes, previously in perfect condition, were now tattered and worn. Traditional moccasins finished their disguises, as well as making their skin a bit more tan. Normal peasants typically weren't as pale as either of them.

Ready? Even in her head, Naminé was giggling.

Roxas, whose hair was now also significantly longer and heavily tousled, nodded. We'll go down and see what we can find out.

They joined hands, and snuck toward the village as the sun began to set.

"Roxas and Naminé are going into a village in disguise," Riku commented to Hana. For the majority of the day, they had been silent, each unwilling to talk to the other. Riku, bored out of his mind, had spent the majority of his time eavesdropping on the conversations between his friends.

"They're having more luck than us, I suppose?" she asked, an edge of frustration creeping into her tone. Her cheeks were pink with effort as they climbed through the jagged rocks of a cavern they had stumbled across. Riku wanted to pass it without looking inside, but Hana, of course, insisted. Whether that was just to bother Riku or not remained to be seen.

Riku had to restrain himself from snottily reminding her that it had been her idea to enter the cavern. "Maybe we should all be disguised. I'm not sure why that never came up."

The Adherence can feel magical disguises, Yuri reminded him. I assume Roxas and Naminé are planning to eliminate anyone that discovers them.

But for traveling among villagers… Riku trailed off.

Just fine, Yuri affirmed. If you guys do it, be cautious. That goes for everyone!

"Why are we climbing through here, anyway?"

Hana, who was leading the way, turned to face him in agitation. "I… I don't know. Riku, something is going on…" She furrowed her brow worriedly, and a powerful and abrupt sadness Riku had seen before infiltrated her eyes.

His voice, typically harsh around Hana, suddenly grew soft and caring. "What's wrong?"

She didn't reply. He noticed her beginning to shake, and he swiftly climbed up next to her, using his free arm to maneuver her onto his back. Thankfully, she understood his meaning, and grasped as tightly as she could. "Hana, please… what's wrong?"

"My head," she began quietly. Riku continued climbing, but mainly for something to do. Guilt for treating her so badly was sidling up next to his mind, clamping on, and refusing to let go… he needed something to distract him. Her added weight felt like nothing more than a small backpack—he hadn't realized how thin she had become over the past seventeen years—and he diligently waited for her to continue explaining her plight.

"When we were passing this place, I just got this feeling… this feeling that maybe Korin, Tomoko, and I had been here before… and then I tried to remember places where I knew spheres were hidden, but… I couldn't."

"Are you just… scared, maybe?" he suggested uncertainly. "Scared to help us take down your friends?"

"They're not my friends," she corrected him fiercely. He felt her grasp growing tighter around his neck—a good sign. The strength that had momentarily left her was returning. "I've wanted to be on your side for a very long time. I can remember fuzzy outlines of certain things, but… the more time that goes by, the more things I can't remember."

Riku quickly brushed sweat from his forehead. "You mean… the more things you forget." He braced himself for the reaction he knew was coming.

"I'm NOT forgetting things!" she snapped indignantly.

"Keep forgetting you're holding onto me, and I'll be strangled," he complained, commenting on her suddenly vice-like grip. It immediately loosened, but her anger, it seemed, was just as strong as before.

"I'm NOT!" she repeated angrily. "I can't be forgetting, I mean… that's what you guys do!"

Riku rolled his eyes, and increased his pace, hoping that more physical strain would drown out Hana's voice.

"I don't remember ever being told that we would forget our time in the Adherence…"

"You wouldn't," Riku shot back darkly.

"Maybe we only forget secrets," she thought aloud. "Kind of how I'm starting to forget where headquarters is located, though you guys even know that."

Riku shrugged his shoulders in an offhand way. "Well, if you think about it, I suppose it's logical. Obviously, they wouldn't want you to know that you only have a limited amount of time in which you can divulge their secrets… you know, until you realize you're forgetting everything."

Silence on Hana's end told Riku that she was considering his hypothesis, and most likely finding it to be true. "I always wondered how traitors never did us much damage… this is why."

"This kind of magic is so powerful… kind of makes me wonder when they had time to put it on you," Riku mused.

He could hear her brain whirring, analyzing, searching for a conclusion… Her 'aha' moment came earlier than expected. "When they change us to be pale and when they change our hair… that's when they do it."

"Again, logical," Riku said with a nod. "You wouldn't suspect a thing."

"But I still wonder why I had that weird feeling when we were standing outside the cavern…"

"Simple," Riku said, "there's a sphere here. You don't remember it, but you can feel it, and you know it." He turned around and gave her a look. "Seriously. It doesn't get much more obvious than that."

The village was quiet. People didn't roam the streets as they used to. Twilight was falling—it was the time when children would be dashing home before the sun set, coming from playing with friends, and when the last adults to finish with their work would hurry through the streets. Restaurants would begin serving the dinner specials, and adults would visit the only bar in town, on the corner of Main Street and Wildflower Way.

It wasn't the same in Westcastle as Naminé remembered. Named for its juxtaposition to the castle, it was Naminé's hometown, and one of the biggest in Hollow Bastion. She had been its protector since the age of fourteen, and was until the Queen needed her and her friends. Since then, she had left Westcastle, moved into the castle, and been treated like royalty. Somehow, as she and Roxas strolled the nearly empty streets, nostalgia hit her harder than she expected, and silly, desperate wishes were firing around in her brain—wishes for the simple days of keeping her neighbors safe, instead of the fate of the whole world depending on her.

Getting in hadn't been easy. She and Roxas didn't want to fight until they had to, and finding the sphere would be easier without an alarm being raised. Any folly of any sort could ruin their chances at getting it. They slipped past the guards, but were forced to use all of their magical know-how to do so. Invisibility spells were draining and could be detected by accomplished magicians, so caution had to be exercised in using one. Naminé analyzed each and every guard, choosing the one with the least extensive magical abilities, and gambled on the spell, doing her best to keep it under control and blinking back the red eyes when Hollow Bastion tried to help her. Luckily, their plan had worked.

"There's nobody," Roxas commented. "This must bother you…"

She nodded, still surveying the empty street. "The bar is probably our best bet…"

Roxas looked suddenly confused. "You don't want to talk about this?"

Naminé stopped walking and turned to face Roxas. Her features were illuminated by a nearby streetlight, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. As she turned away, he abruptly saw—she hid them extremely well, but just a glint from the light revealed the tears in her eyes. "No, I don't want to talk about it," she replied, emotionless. "At times like these… I prefer to throw myself into my work."

"If you want to free this place, let's get going," Roxas agreed. "You said the bar?"

"It's just up this way, yeah," Naminé motioned toward the next corner. "I figured maybe some of the villagers know something that could be useful."

"We can only hope," he sighed, holding her hand a bit tighter. He wanted to be there for her, and definitely didn't want to see her in pain. Perhaps coming into Westcastle hadn't been a good idea at all.

The bar was surprisingly full of adults. Many of them seemed bored, and many were conversing about the boredom that was Adherence occupation. Everyone was so scared that nobody had much fun anymore. At first, Naminé and Roxas kept to themselves, ordering sodas and meals to fill their starving stomachs. Snippets of conversations were easy to catch and listen in on, but one man in particular caught Naminé's attention—possibly because he was talking about her.

"People are back to fight for us, they say," he spoke to the two men sitting across the booth from him. "Imagine that! The little blondie, Naminé, running around again."

"There was a fight at the castle, I heard," another man added. "Naminé will return to claim whatever they have hidden in our town."

The villagers knew something was hidden! Naminé immediately got Roxas' attention, and they both focused on the men. "Heard those bad guys put the Queen in a right state," the third man speculated.

"Is she really back?" a nearby woman jumped into the conversation. Naminé could smell skeptic on the woman from where she was sitting. "I just… I don't think it's true."

"Believe it," the second man assured her confidently, taking a swig from his mug. "My pal saw her—remember all the news about the wedding? How could that have been fake?"

"You'd think she'd have a plan of action by now, though," the woman grumbled. "Don't you think we've all suffered long enough?" She certainly looked as though she had suffered—thin, frail, and clothing old and deteriorating.

The second man crossed his arms. "How do you know she hasn't?" he demanded.

"Yes," Naminé spoke up. "If you don't mind my intrusion… how do you know she hasn't?"

"Because I'm still suffering."

"Patience is a virtue," the first man reminded her.

"She became injured, didn't you hear?" Roxas entered the conversation.

"But she's got her supposed fighters at her disposal," the woman argued. "And, where are they? Oh, right—nobody knows."

"I know because I've seen them," Naminé snapped back, getting the sharp look in her eye that Roxas recognized well. As far as he was concerned, the woman had better brace herself, because Naminé was about to come down on her, and hard at that.

"Oh yeah?" the woman challenged. "What's the famous Naminé like, then?"

"From a distance?" she raised her eyebrows. "Short, pale, and blonde, obviously."

"I wouldn't care if they were actually doing something to help us—"

"Ma'am, if I may… they are giving you their everything right now… their honest to goodness everything. There is not much more that they can give, and their lives can't be any more on the line than they already are." She sounded agitated; Roxas commended her for keeping it in check.

The woman wasn't sure how to respond to that, so Naminé turned to the men. "We're travelers, so we don't know much about this area… you mentioned the Adherence hiding something in your village?" Typical Naminé—all business.

"Yeah, we reckon they hid it somewhere in the bank," the third man shrugged. "Nobody bothers to look, since we don't know what it is that we're searching for."

After a long moment, Naminé said, "I think I might."

Review! The next chapter is also posted, so keep reading! :D

Thank you,

Lulala