It should be obvious at this point that I don't own Kingdom Hearts or its characters.

The catacombs. They were tunnels beneath the ground housing the dead and some of the less fortunate. People who had no homes and no one would or could take pity on them, they were hunker down in those tunnels, especially in the winter. Vexen led Squall to another part of them, further and deeper within to remain unheard, unseen, and undetected.

"Do you know how they are?" Vexen inquired.

"No; I'm not one of the guards assigned to duty in the dungeons." Squall said, sitting on a stone bench in the little area they entered. "But I do have information to give you."

"Do tell; hopefully we'll be able to work with it." Vexen stated.

"Hopefully." Squall nodded. "First off, the execution is planned to be held next week. Sephiroth wants the prince executed then."

"That day? But wh..." Vexen wasn't sure why, but then it dawned on him. "I see; so, he is making it as poetic as possible by wanting him executed on the day his own parents were." He sighed. "That gives us a little time, but if we're not cautious, then he may change his mind."

"Right." Squall nodded. "Next, all five captured, two of your members, the prince, Axel, and the blonde kid who was with the prince are all kept in the same dungeon; it's in the east wing, underground."

"We don't know the layout of the palace well..." Vexen thought it over. "But the wolf may remember it."

"Hopefully he does." Squall stated. "He did live there, after all. So that helps some." He sighed. "Also, security is being tightened; guards are on duty in larger groups. However, the south watch tower remains a blind spot."

"Oh? Wouldn't that be noticed and fixed?" Vexen inquired.

"It's structurally a blind spot, not the guard duty." Squall elaborated. He then drew in the dirt at their feet. He was working on a diagram of the castle and around it; though crude, it was a doable diagram. "The backside of it, opposite of the palace gates, its hidden by the shadows, especially this time of year and with the moon phases. Even with torches lit, its completely hidden, making it an ideal way to get out."

"There's a grove of trees out that way, too; a grove that leads into the forest." Vexen stated. "If a long enough rope can be used, they can get out that way, especially if they use an arrow and shoot it to someone waiting in the shadows, tying one end to a sturdy area of the tower, the other end to a sturdy tree."

"Exactly; that would be the best exit route." Squall said. "I can hide a bow and arrow in the tower tonight, as well as rope; that's easy."

"We'll need a different route, though, for entrance; using the same route will be hard and make it more noticeable." Vexen pointed out.

"There are the servants' passageways, but..." Squall wasn't sure.

Vexen thought it over. He knew some things about the palace, but he wasn't entirely sure. "We can figure it out ourselves; after all, the wolf probably remembers the structure. That and, if willing, we have another addition who may be able to help out." he explained, not going into detail.

"Right." Squall nodded. "Also… Axel, he's Reno's younger brother. Riku's best friend. He can't be left there; I know the prince is your priority but..."

"We will be sure to do all we can." Vexen stated. "Is this all?"

"Yeah." Squall said, kicking the dirt around to hide the diagram. "This… can be done before the week is out, right?"

"If you get the stuff in the tower tonight, we can probably go in tomorrow night." Vexen responded.

"Good." Squall said. "Then I leave the rest to you."

"So, the little alley cat had that information… it's really good and doable. But getting in..." Xemnas speculated things. They looked at the map of the kingdom that had been crafted over time, giving the layout of that and the castle the best it could.

"What are these blue lines?" Sora asked.

"Aqueducts." Saïx was the one to respond. "They carry water through the entire kingdom, and even into the castle." He paused a moment and nodded before marking an area. "There's a decorative pool of water here; it was set up with a fountain as a wedding gift to Aqua and Terra." he explained. "In the bottom of the pool, though, there is a grate made of iron covering it; it just sits there, so it should be easy to open and get in through there."

"So, go in through the ducts." Xaldin stated. "Seems easy enough."

"Not really. They're narrow; someone my size wouldn't fit so easily, and even if they could, last I knew, they were filled completely; there's no room to rise up and inhale are." Saïx explained. "The only one who could get through it safely is Sora."

Everyone had knowledge at this point that Sora was a siren, able to swim in water freely and breathe in it, too. So pointing out that Sora was the only one who could go in wasn't new news to anyone.

"Sending him in alone is a bad idea." Saïx stated.

"And it seemed like a good idea at first..." Xigbar grumbled.

"Well… if they're wide enough for me to move around and one other person, I could help, actually." Sora stated. This had eyes on him. "Well, I can help someone breathe through me pretty much, helping them get through all of that."

"Hey, yeah, that's an idea." Xigbar said. "Sora, singing also has special properties, right?"

"It depends on the song." Sora stated. "I can use lullabies in some areas to knock guards out."

"Which means," Larxene poked into the conversation, "the guards in the dungeon at least, you can knock them out, getting the others released without being noticed. How long does it last, though?"

"A few hours at minimum." Sora stated. "Zexion would sleep the entire night, though, when I did lullabies for him. And I've used them in the past against people who would trail me when I was younger; they don't pay mind and they're out for some time before they could even know what hit them."

"Then that leaves the right person to send with you." Xemnas stated. "Larxene is petite, but she's expecting."

"Guys, I can go." Demyx said. "I'm small enough, I can hold my breath longer naturally, and I swim a lot better than any of you… except Sora, but he doesn't count since he's a siren." He sighed. "I'm not much of a fighter, but… I'm really good at sneaking around and running really fast."

"I say we let him." Vexen stated. "Sending him may be the only way to make this work."

Xemnas thought it over. He didn't know if sending Demyx would be best, his emotions may get ahead of him, but they didn't have much choice, did they? He could swim, he could hold his breath underwater for longer periods of time than anyone else, that with Sora helping him would work well. Sure, Demyx didn't have the best aim for the rope plan, but getting Marluxia from the dungeon, that was settled.

"I think we have our plan." Xemnas finally stated. "That means resting, Demyx; as soon as it's dark tomorrow night, you're going on that mission. And probably without much in terms of clothes; we don't want you dripping water everywhere and leaving a trail to you."

"I'll live with that." Demyx said. "It's hard to swim with lots of clothes on anyway."

"Then after we get you in, I'll have some of us be at the rendezvous point to meet you at the south part of the castle." Xemnas said. "Sora, you'd probably come back the way you will go in, hmm? Water being your thing?"

"Yeah, heights isn't quite what I do." Sora stated.

"Then I'll have a couple of us remain there to meet with you." Xemnas said. "Also, how long does it take you to dry off?"

"Not too long, especially if I go without anything on." Sora explained.

"If it takes a while longer, the fountain is in the garden." Saïx said. "The garden is still there and full; we saw it at the masquerade."

"So, we can hide in the plants until we dry off enough?" Demyx inquired, to which Saïx nodded.

"Well, this plan is getting functional and better by the minute." Vexen stated.

"Just need to hope it doesn't backfire on us." Xigbar said. "Any ideas if it does?"

"I know a lot of songs with magic in them… I'll come up with something." Sora stated.

"Then we rest; tomorrow night will be busy." Xemnas ordered. Everyone was dismissed, but Sora remained sitting there. "Nervous?"

"I've never done anything like this." Sora admitted. "I've spent my time hiding… avoiding people who could hurt me."

"If you feel you can't..." Xemnas started to speak.

"I can't back out of this. I need to help Roxas and Zexion." Sora stated. "They're my brothers… my family." He sighed. "They're all I've got."

"I understand." Xemnas said. "You know, if I can get away with this, when this is all over and Sephiroth is off of the throne, I'll see about having an aqueduct built for you." Sora looked up at him. "That way you can visit here whenever you want and return to the forest whenever, never having to leave the water if you wish it."

Sora smiled. "That would be nice… especially if Zexion decides to take back the throne or remain here to stay with Saïx." he stated.

"Now, go rest; we've got an eventful night tomorrow." Xemnas said. "You can ask someone to draw water up for you if you wish it." Sora nodded before walking off, doing just that so he could sleep in the water.

Heyo, lovelies!

I'll be honest, in my original document with this chapter, the nickname for one of the characters (and you can guess who by the new nickname, most likely) was original the hound, but I decided to change it to the wolf since it seemed to suit such character more.

Anyway, as always, thank you for reading this chapter and I hope you liked it and look forward to the next ones.

Ciao!

~ Chibi