Ravens were a common sight in the Kingdom of Baron, oftentimes seen lurking in the thick forest around the castle's domain. They could be quite the nuisance; servants were always up in arms over their thievery, the berry bushes left bare before they could be harvested at their peak. Occasionally, Kain and Cecil would have face-to-face encounters with the rather gloomy birds as they climbed up the cherry trees, practically having to start battles for the plumpest, ripest of fruit during summertime in the palace gardens.

Old wives' tales always depicted the forlorn creatures as omens of darkness - whether this was good or bad, Kain wasn't entirely sure despite the chatter of the new people he surrounded himself with. Still, their rumored affinity to that element would explain their looming presence over their kingdom...

But then, overwhelmed by the very thing they were supposed to symbolize, the ravens all fled their coops the day their world disappeared. Now Kain was here, in this land they called the 'Wayward Borough' where pigeons loved to run amok amongst the townspeople, sparrows roosted in the trees, and finches lined the power lines that provided that substance – electricity, the folks originally from Radiant Garden called it – that kept the town running.

So, when the dragoon happened to spot a certain familiar yet obscure, winged silhouette up against the clear blue sky above him as he now patrolled the Borough's streets, his curiosity was undeniably piqued. Of course, under his rather heavy helmet, his vision wasn't always exactly the most reliable. With that in mind, he was quick to decide to get closer and inspect the strange sight further. After all, one of his duties as a Keeper of this still-foreign land was to inspect anything that appeared suspicious.

He held out an arm and almost instantly a lance materialized into his grasp. The same dark color as his armor, its back end resembled a dragon wing, its front a speared tip. He plunged this end into the cobblestoned ground below him before using it as leverage to spring himself into the air above. His impressive jumping ability allowed him to soar sky-high until he was practically side-by-side with the mysterious creature…

...A creature that wasn't so mysterious, after all. The dark, almost soulless eyes and feathers blacker than ink...

Unquestionably, it was a raven.

Before Kain could decide on his next move, gravity took hold. He used his momentum to lunge himself over onto the top of the nearest edifice. The raven continued to fly ahead. His instinct told him to follow.

Once again he summoned his lance, this time using it as a vault to propel himself vertically. He leapt forward, building top to building top, eyes glued on the bird, and soon they were soaring side by side. Paying no heed to the smattering of civilians below who watched on, the purple mane on his helmet flew in the wind behind him, and his ultraviolet armor gleamed under the sunlight.

After what felt like eons, and having crossed all three of the town's districts, the raven finally began its descent. Kain finally slowed down his pace, calculating his next move as he watched it lower itself into a dark corner alleyway. He moved even more stealthily now. Every step felt like a gamble, and occasionally he'd find himself cursing under his breath as his heavy armor clinked, a potential giveaway to his target as he attempted to sneak into its destination.

"Kain Highwind, correct?" a voice suddenly said from below, causing him to stop in his tracks. Certainly it couldn't have belonged to the bird he'd been tracking.

Who…?

"The legendary Dragoon of Baron…" the voice continued. It belonged to a woman, that Kain could discern, but her identity was still a complete mystery to him.

"And by who, might I ask, am I being addressed?" Kain responded after a moment, regaining his composure. He began to take the final few steps to the edge of the building top as the depths of the alleyway came into clear view, the bright daylight exposing any figures that would otherwise be obscured by the shadows. The mysterious raven came into sight, perched on the shoulder of…

"It's caught my ear that rumors have been spreading about me," the woman continued, bringing up a hand to pet the bird. Her voice was cool, matter-of-fact, with a subtle sinister undertone. It matched her rather strange appearance: draped in a large, black cloak obscuring most of her body, though it was clear she was quite tall and gaunt. Whether she was older or younger, ugly or beautiful, Kain was unsure. Her large black eyes framed by thick, long lashes looked him up and down, sizing him up, and a rather sly smirk played on her rosy lips. Her skin tone was unlike any he'd ever seen, almost gray-ish blue in hue. As for her hair, there was none to speak of - none that was visible, at least; it was likely hidden under that strange headcovering resembling two long, black horns. Kain kept one hand behind his back, eyes narrowed behind his mask.

As for the rumors she'd mentioned…

It came back to him: the meeting with the Captain several days ago, including a recap of his conversation with a foreign king who'd left as quickly as he'd suddenly and willingly arrived. Darkness was spreading across the worlds like wildfire according to him, and several perpetrators were named.

This woman matched the exact description of one of the ringleaders.

"You must be Maleficent," he grunted, the hand behind his back stiffening.

"The pleasure is all mine." She smirked, dark eyes gleaming at him as she bowed in a seemingly gracious manner, the pet perched on her shoulder following suit.

"You are not welcome here," Kain responded, his lance materializing in his hand.

"Now, now," she rose, now standing upright, gaze still locked on the lancer who loomed above, "despite what gossip may have reached your ears about me, I come here only to talk. And to you, specifically."

"To me?"

"Yes," she clarified, shooting the raven a momentary glance. "I thought Diablo might catch your attention. From my understanding, the Kingdom of Baron, where you hail from, and my own home world of the Enchanted Dominion were quite similar."

"The Enchanted Dominion, huh?" Kain scoffed, recalling the king's mention of one of seven special princesses who'd been taken from there. "A doomed world, one of the many destroyed by the very same darkness that taints you?"

"Those are bold words coming from a man like you. That armor you shroud yourself in and that famous fighting prowess known from worlds over - where do those come from? Surely, they do not belong to the realm of light that every resident of this foreign land seems to want to cling on to. Even your friends have followed suit, have they not?"

His thoughts wandered to Cecil and Rosa, the only other people who'd survived their home's demise. The childhood friends had served their homeland's king together, and it was that very same power of darkness that fueled their army and helped further their conquest of other lands on their world.

And conquer they did. During his time served, they took over countless villages, cities – countries, even. They were respected – feared, yes, but respected. Invincible.

But that didn't last forever. The more powerful they became, the further the darkness spread until the very power they'd for so long relied upon overtook their kingdom.

"The darkness destroys," Kain echoed his best friend, who'd abandoned that power the moment he vowed to become a Keeper of the Borough.

"Do you truly believe that?"

"It's what took my home, and nearly everything precious to me," he quickly responded with the answer he'd trained himself to give.

"Was it darkness, or was it the fault of a King who became a pawn of his own weapon?" Her smirk grew as she watched the lancer's body stiffen. "The darkness is a fickle thing, after all. Those who align themselves with the light claim that it is nothing more than a power of destruction. Of course, after losing our worlds, you and I might agree that there is a basis to their claims."

"Which is why I no longer am –"

"Surrounded by allies on our side?" Maleficent's tone was laced with amusement, her satisfaction only growing further as her words took their effect on him in plain sight.

"'Our side?'" he growled through gritted teeth. The anger within him began to rise as the air around him grew heavier. Feeling that foreboding sensation beginning to rise within him, he paused for a moment to compose himself before continuing. "A baseless accusation! I do not ally myself with the likes of you."

"What a pity…" Black pools emitting a dark aura began to suddenly bloom all around her, an ominous sign that he recognized all too well. It was time for him to act.

Kain readied himself to leap. He stepped back, grip tight on his lance before he lunged forward and upwards, his body spiraling in the air like an acrobat before he was face-down. With the head of his spear leading the way, he dove straight towards his target whose terrible influence he would be sure to end there, once and for all.

This would make the rest of them proud of him, wouldn't it?

The thought was cut short when a loud clang erupted. Kain found himself having to suddenly shift his momentum and leap back before plummeting straight into whatever it was that had blocked his attack, his feet landing against the stone wall of the adjacent building. He straightened his legs to stand steady against the vertical incline, sizing up whoever or whatever he was now up against.

Before him stood a new monster. It took him a moment of searching to find that familiar emblem on its chest, confirming it was a Heartless, though not like any he'd ever seen before around the Borough. Each of its arms were as large as its torso; it used one to support itself as it stood on the ground, the other to hold in front of itself a shield almost as tall and wide as itself, embellished with what looked like a fanged dog with three glowing, golden eyes at its face. Two other Heartless resembling wyverns floated on either side of it, their talons kicking angrily as they flapped their tattered wings.

Almost as soon as Kain completed his visual inspection, the creatures disintegrated back into the pools of darkness they'd likely originally emerged from, leaving him face to face with Maleficent and her pet raven once more.

"They do not attack unless I command them to," she slyly stated.

"So, you are the one in charge of them," he grunted, jaw clenching. If this was truly the case and he was able to defeat her, then perhaps he'd be able to eradicate those wretched creatures from this place once and for all.

"Only if I choose to be." Caught off-guard, Kain nearly slipped off the building when Diablo spread his wings far, wide and ominously, though before any anticipated attacks, the bird quickly drew them back in. The witch's face expressed amusement; even the slightest movement at this point would excite this man.

With his eyes so intently on her, soon, she'd have him wrapped around her little finger.

"These are the fruits of what taming that power you claim to be so averse to can bring," she continued, smirking, "allowing you to tame even the wildest, most powerful of the Heartless."

"And what benefit would an ability like that bring me?" he snarled, now back in his battle stance.

"I would have expected the rules of hierarchy to be ingrained in a man with your military experience, though I suppose I could offer a refresher. It's quite simple: the commander is not only in charge of leading the battle, but also –"

"Halting it," Kain finished her thought. His shoulders relaxed slightly, though his grip on his lance was just as tight.

"Precisely. Perhaps you aren't as base as I was beginning to think you were."

"But a commander is only as good as the respect he has from his underlings. How does one wrangle these beasts in the first place, and who's to say they wouldn't become traitors?"

"The Heartless are not your average human soldier, with fickle hearts ruled by politics and desires. No, they are much simpler creatures. Without a leader, they run amok, causing chaos wherever they will or please. You've seen this firsthand, and it is all you've come to know about them. Many have tried to control them in the past, only to fail, not realizing that the Heartless care not about indulging their leaders' beliefs or goals. Loyalty is not a concept they care to familiarize themselves with. No, they only choose to ally themselves with those who they deem the strongest – those with the greatest control over the darkness that rules them."

"So, you're insinuating that...should I harness that power once more, I might be able to…"

"Gain an even greater ability to protect those who are precious to you, yes." Her smirk only grew wider knowing she had him right where she wanted him.

"The darkness…" Kain glanced over at his free hand, reminiscing about what it felt like to have that power course through them without any willed restriction. It was an exhilarating feeling, he recalled, to be able to use it to win battles and further his king's mass conquering. But with such a skill came consequences. "It's much too great a risk."

The witch stood tall as she eyed him up and down, and soon he found himself a victim drowning in the deep black depths of her stare. It wasn't before long he felt a sharp coldness course through his veins, and through the corner of his eye he could see the embers of what appeared to be a deep emerald flame engulfing his armor.

What Kain didn't see was the only witness to the exchange, obscured by the shadows and the sunlight that gleamed off a nearby building from above. Her features were only further concealed by the woven white hood she kept over her head, her brown eyes barely peeking out from underneath its hem. The distasteful scowl on her lips was the only clearly visible thing about her.

"What an idiot," she huffed under her breath as she continued to observe the unfolding scene.

There was no way this would end well. She knew from experience.


The bed was made, the floors had been swept, and most of the furniture was dusted. Her vanity was the last thing on the list, its wooden base now practically shining. She turned her attention to the mirror atop it, keeping the cloth flat as she swept it around in careful circles to avoid streaks.

She hated streaks.

"Amaya!" Rinoa's voice rang from behind the door, followed by a gentle knock.

"Y-Yes?" she responded, setting the rag down as her eyes darted around, hastily searching for the clock mounted on the wall over her still-new bed.

That much time had passed already?!

"Just wanted to let you know, they should be here to get you in about ten to fifteen minutes, so be ready!"

"Sure thing!" she sang in response as she darted towards her dresser. "Thank you!"

Though she could hear Rinoa's retreating footsteps from the other side of her bedroom wall, she did not see the mix of concern and confusion on the older woman's face, uncertain yet also completely aware as to why this girl was in the middle of a second round of spring cleaning on only her third day on this world.

With all the time she'd spent scrubbing and dusting away, Amaya knew she'd have to hurry to make herself presentable. Throwing on her yellow dress, she had to remind herself to breathe as she deftly tied her sarong around her waist. Thoughts of how the afternoon may or may not play out then began to flash in her mind, and she began shaking her head.

"Focus," she whispered breathlessly to herself before seating herself in front of the mirror. She speedily raked through her thick hair with a brush, eyes darting once again back to the clock when she got to one particularly knotted area. "Seven minutes!" She cringed, doing her best to make haste.

The prospect of this afternoon's outing was one that gave Amaya admittedly mixed feelings to say the least. For her first two days here, she hadn't gone out much, if at all, choosing to remain within the confines of this place the Keepers dubbed "the base." Some of her time was spent downstairs on the first floor in the bar, Seventh Heaven, where she'd chatted a few times with Rinoa and Tifa. She'd met some of the other members of this seemingly-exclusive club, though at this point she'd probably fail any test that would require her to put names to faces. At the very least, everyone was nothing but cordial to her so far.

But it certainly wasn't home.

Truthfully, the only reasons she ever made those occasional trips downstairs were to eat, or more importantly to find out whether or not there were any updates or sightings of her friends, her family, or anyone whose name might have sounded familiar. But there had been nothing, and as each hour went by, the more difficult it became to remain positive despite Tifa and Rinoa's encouragement.

Alone with her thoughts throughout most of the days, the only real reprieve she had was sleep – supposedly. Even in the land of dreams her mind wandered to its darkest depths and corners; images from the night she lost her home, the nightmares she'd had even prior to then, and visions of what could have happened to her loved ones would haunt her even there. Her eyes would whip open and she would find herself drenched in a cold sweat. Even the comfort of always waking up to a safe room bathed in sunlight failed to quell the anxiety.

The perpetual sunlight was another thing Amaya inwardly blamed for her running late as she swiftly tied the knot of her red ribbon around the end of her braid. From the times on the clock that she associated with dawn and dusk, afternoon and evening, the sun sat still on its perch, the occasional cloud the only thing that might briefly obscure its rays.

She'd been dwelling on things enough. After fastening the belt of her satchel and one quick final inspection in the mirror, she deemed herself ready for a new day, a new beginning. Ahead was a trip to see new sights and experience new things, and perhaps put her in a position to find more answers for herself.

Downstairs, Rinoa stood behind the bar finnicking with her pencil, occasionally squatting up and down to review and count their stock. Tifa wasn't too far away working with another young girl to polish the tabletops. Rags were sloshed around in a bucket of frothy, soapy water before they were swirled around the wooden surfaces. The little girl giggled when she saw a few floating bubbles, reaching out with her finger to prod at them.

"Be careful! Don't want to get the floor all wet, Marlene." Tifa chuckled. Marlene bashfully rubbed the back of her neck, though the kind smile on the older woman's face provided her with reassurance. Smiling once more, she skipped over to another table to get back on task, the hem of her little pink dress floating behind her.

"How's it going over there, Rinoa?" Tifa now turned to her peer.

"Eh, almost done," she responded, standing up with her gaze still directed towards the notepad she had in hand. "We'll need to restock on a couple things, but for the most part, we're in pretty good shape for the rest of the week – for up here, at least. The back might be a different story, though."

"I leave it to you." She let out a small sigh, thankful that their tasks for the day were manageable. Between being a Keeper, guarding their base, and running a business, the days could get draining. But at least everything was being taken care of. Everything except… "Hey, any word on Amaya?"

"Mm? I did give her a reminder a few minutes ago...Should I go up again?"

"If she's not here by the time the others get here, yeah." Tifa slapped the rag once more against the table. "You know one of them definitely won't be happy about being kept waiting."

"Lightning could learn to be a bit more patient herself."

"I don't disagree." She let out a chuckle along with a slight shake of her head before continuing in a low tone, "But, I hope it's not too overwhelming for Amaya, either. It might be a lot to take in."

"She's gotta get out there sooner or later, though." Rinoa set the pad down on the counter, now facing Tifa straight on. "That girl's spent 90% of her time so far cooped upstairs."

"Different people are gonna handle different things...well, differently," Tifa gently reminded her.

"Guess I can't argue with you there." Rinoa chuckled softly before letting out a wistful sigh, her fingers twiddling with the ring that hung off a silvery chain around her neck. She snapped out of her daze shortly after, returning to the task.

The rather frantic footsteps heard coming down the stairway moments later interrupted her once more.

"I'm so sorry, I hope I'm not late!" Amaya panted as she slid through the door, tan cheeks flushed.

"Actually, I'd say you're just in time." Tifa's attention was turned towards the front door, Amaya noticed as she caught her breath. And she was right - three figures could be seen walking past the windows. Amaya stood straight when she heard the door to the entrance creak open, the trio of strangers filing into the bar one by one.

Upon closer inspection, she then realized that two of them weren't strangers at all. She felt her shoulders stiffen at the sight of the pink-haired girl, wearing the same unwavering deadpan expression she'd had on her face when they first encountered each other now three days ago. Inadvertently Amaya gulped, though the tension eased when her eyes met the familiar blond boy next to her.

"Heya Amaya!" Prompto greeted, the pattern of freckles smattered across his face crinkling around his nose and eyes, his cobalt eyes brimming with jubilation.

"I-It's nice to see you again. Prompto and Light, right?" She bowed her head respectfully in hopes of making a decent impression this time around.

"Lightning," the girl corrected, arms crossed.

"There's no need to be so formal," Tifa said gently, placing a reassuring pat on Amaya's shoulder. "Don't worry, I promise they don't bite."

"Unless we need to," Lightning added. Her upper lip remained stiff despite the chiding looks she received from Prompto and Tifa. Needless to say, the tension in Amaya's shoulders remained, as she was now safely able to conclude that Lightning hadn't changed at all since their first encounter. Not that she should have expected anything less.

"Light," Prompto hissed through gritted teeth, nudging her with his elbow. She simply scooted a few paces away from him.

"Don't mind her." Tifa sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "Though that does bring up another reason why we're doing this. Besides this being a good old escort mission, think of it as a social exercise that helps you kids get to know one another better. Maybe even learn some manners along the way." The target of her last jibe simply rolled her eyes, offering no further acknowledgment of the statement.

Amaya offered a polite smile. "I see. Well, I hope we can all get along then. Lightning, Prompto, and, uh…" The third figure, who'd been obscured in her peripheral vision, finally came into focus. This stranger was another boy who appeared to be about Prompto's age, though he stood about an inch or two taller.

"Oh, uh, the name's Noctis," he said, strands of his unruly onyx hair dancing about as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. With his mouth mostly covered by the high collar of his black leather jacket, and his indigo gaze rather withdrawn, it was hard for Amaya to discern his expression.

"C'mon, Noct, no need to be so shy!" Prompto was quick to sling his arm around the boy's shoulder, whose eyebrows knitted at the contact. Clearing his throat, he stood up slightly taller.

"I'll be the guy to make sure this guy," he gestured to his blond friend, "doesn't give you any trouble."

"Dude," Prompto deadpanned. "Not cool."

Amaya surprised even herself when she found it in herself to let out a soft giggle. "It's nice to meet you, Noctis."

"Yeah, likewise." She could detect a hint of a smile in the way his cheeks lifted.


Bright panels of light shone overhead in the Borough's General Store. Wooden signs hanging down from the rainbow-tiled ceiling signified what categories of items could be found within each aisle. Wiry metallic basket in hand, Amaya's feet squeaked against the wooden floorboards while she combed through what seemed like endless options placed upon the shelves lined up throughout the store.

Keeping the allowance that Tifa had given her for this excursion in mind, Amaya was careful to pick out only things she felt she really would need. Thankfully, the base had already supplied her with some basic grooming products like a toothbrush, towels, and a hairbrush. They covered her meals, too. All she had in her basket so far was a nail clipper and a basic first-aid kit for good measure.

Given the little bumps she could feel coming up through her chin and cheeks, what she truly was in desperate need of were some good quality skincare products. She scanned the aisle high and low, sifting through dozens of unfamiliar brands and words as she tried to filter through them and figure out what would work best for her needs, much less know how to pronounce some of the brand names. But would El Milagro de Isabel's Magical Cleanser really remove the gunk out of her pores the way it claimed it would? Was the Lunafreya Luminous Hydratante really worth 750 munny?

"Say, Lightning," Amaya hesitantly began, thinking it might be worth consulting someone who might be a bit more familiar with the lay of the skincare landscape.

"Yeah?" Lightning sighed, leaned up against one of the store's supporting pillars by the end of the aisle. A loud scoff escaped her at Amaya's inquiry. "What would I know? I don't use any of that stuff."

"Wh- really?" Amaya was admittedly a bit taken aback. "But you have really nice skin!" The poreless nose, the even under-eyes, the flawless fair complexion - it would probably be a bit much to mention all the details Amaya couldn't help but notice on their walk through the Borough earlier to get to the store.

"Just soap and water." Lightning shrugged, remaining where she stood. Shoulders falling, Amaya began to reexamine the bottles and tubs in front of her. She decided to go with smaller packages of products that seemed to fall in the median price range, figuring she wouldn't invest too much of her munny now while she experimented to see what products would work well on her skin type.

Hopefully she wasn't in this world long enough to have to figure all that out, anyway.

Products selected and basket half-full, Amaya made her way over to the register for checkout. As the bespectacled curly-haired cashier scanned her items, her eyes wandered around at the snack items that lined the queue. Unlike the clear plastic bags filled with nuts, pickled fish, dried fruit and other Island delicacies back home, opaque brightly colored packages lined these shelves with items she'd never heard of.

A bright green bag labeled "Bruno's Sour Rock Candy" caught Amaya's eye, though it wasn't her hand that reached towards it. As she slid it off the rack, Lightning dug her other hand into her satchel.

"For all that you do?" the cashier chuckled, bagging up the last of Amaya's items. "It's on the house, Lightning." Nodding, Lightning proceeded to tear open the bag, revealing strange marble-sized neon pebbles seemingly covered with some sort of white powder.

"Want one?" Lightning asked, noticing Amaya's gaze.

"Uh, s-sure." A candy was quickly tossed in her direction, bouncing between Amaya's unready palms before she could get a steady grip on it. Stifling a frustration not dissimilar to what she'd experienced being around Riku on a regular basis, she gingerly plopped the morsel into her mouth before grabbing the cashier's requested munny total. As she handed it over, she couldn't help but notice the way crystals of sugar dissolved on her tongue, followed by an acidic punch to her taste buds.

"You seem to be enjoying that," the cashier said with a laugh, handing Amaya her change.

"I've never really tasted anything like this before," Amaya responded with reddened cheeks and a swallow. "It's really good."

"Well, here's another one for you. On me!" The cashier grabbed a second packet of treats and threw it into Amaya's packed bag.

"Oh no, you don't have to –" Amaya was digging around her satchel for the appropriate amount to compensate the cashier when her bag was snatched up.

"C'mon, let's get going," an impatient Lightning huffed, Amaya's purchases in tow, already making her way towards the exit.

"B-but…"

"Like I said, it's on me," the cashier waved Amaya off. "You're new around here, right? Take it as a welcome present!"

"Thank you," Amaya offered with a bow.

"Thank you for your business today! Hasta luego!" The quizzical look on her customer's face didn't go unnoticed. "It means 'see you later' in my home world's language."

"Ah, I see!" Her curiosity piqued, it took almost everything for Amaya to hold back the plethora of questions she had, and after hearing the bell jingle and the shop door close behind Lightning, she knew she couldn't stay for too much longer. Perhaps another time. "I'll see you later," she paused to peek at the cashier's name tag, "Mee-ra-bell?"

"You got it!" Mirabel beamed.

The bell jingled once more as Amaya finally exited. She turned back around to give the Borough General Store's storefront one last look, squinting when she noticed a subtitling underneath the main sign. "'La Tee-en-da de Cass-uh Mad…rigal?'" she read aloud, not quite sure if she'd pronounced the foreign words correctly. It was going to have to be on the list of growing questions she'd need to ask on her next visit.

Before she could move on to catch up with Lightning, she felt something hit her leg. Flinching, Amaya instinctively jumped back, fearing the worst – that the Heartless had found their way to the Town Square.

That was, until she saw what had actually intruded her personal space.

"Pardon me, kupo!" the small creature chirped.

"Th-that's okay!" Bending down to meet it at eye-level, Amaya couldn't help but be mesmerized by the tiny thing as she took in its strange features: its round shape, bat-like wings, big red ball for a nose, and that delightful pom-pom-shaped protrusion that extended out of its head.

…It was just too darn cute!

"Amaya, don't!" Before her outreached palm could pet the creature's pom-pom, another leather-gloved hand gripped her wrist. She instantly recognized who the freckled arm belonged to.

"Caught ya right in time," Prompto sighed. Before Amaya could respond, the creature began to waddle away, though not without a visible furrow in its rather squishy-appearing brow area. "Moogles hate getting their pom-poms touched."

"O-oh." Amaya stood back up. "Sorry about…that…" she called after the moogle right before it disappeared into the crowd down the cobbled road. It didn't bother looking back at her.

"Don't sweat it too much," said a cool, calm voice. Unsurprisingly, Noctis wasn't too far behind. "Better that than having to learn the hard way, like we all did." He crossed his arms with a smirk. "And I do mean all of us." The attention was turned to the pink-haired girl, her face now almost the same color, who'd been standing much closer by the whole time than Amaya had realized.

Though the idea of Lightning getting dubiously charmed by a moogle was admittedly a funny one, Amaya did get it. She really did.

"Why didn't ya do anything to stop her, Light?" an exasperated Prompto asked. "You were right there!"

"Gave you the chance to do something useful after you ditched us," Lightning shrugged. After making it to the Town Square, Noctis and Prompto stated that the hardest part of the mission – walking through the districts where Heartless roamed about – was over, and that three escorts certainly weren't necessary for a bit of harmless shopping, before heading in an apparently different direction. Amaya chose not to try to interpret Lightning's grumbling as she begrudgingly led her to run her errands.

"And maybe you can, too." Lightning now turned towards Noctis, tossing the bag full of Amaya's purchases at him without a blink. A grunt escaped him as he moved to catch it in the nick of time.

"Oh, you don't have to –" Amaya began, but Noctis raised his free hand to cut her off.

"It's no sweat." He slung the bag's straps over his shoulder. "Anything else you need to pick up while we're here?" She ran through the list in her head once more, making sure she hadn't missed anything.

"No, I don't think so."

"Then we should probably start heading ba–" A sudden loud gurgling noise interrupted Noctis.

"Gah, all that talk about the Bistro earlier has got me staaarving," a flushed Prompto put a hand over his belly.

"You know it's gonna be months before that place opens up, right?" Noctis cocked up a brow as Prompto's stomach loudly groaned once more. "Still, I could probably stop for a bite." He turned to the girls. "You guys down?"

"Um, sure," Amaya responded, remembering it had been a while since she had had anything to eat herself, while Lightning simply shrugged.

Unsure of where their destination was, Amaya stuck close to the rest of the group as they began to go on their way. With no pressure to complete her errands now, she began to take a proper gander at her surroundings.

The Town Square had the same cobbled roads and brick and mortar buildings as the parts of the Borough she'd seen so far. However, the vibe surrounding this place was different – the Third and Second Districts had been akin to ghost towns when she'd walked through them earlier to get here, but here, people were visible and moved about freely.

"It's the only part of the Borough where there's never any Heartless," Prompto had explained on their way over, and that statement had held true so far.

All types of foreign sounds and sights roused Amaya's senses. There were stalls littered about with salespeople loudly advertising their various wares. Street performers could be seen exhibiting all kinds of talents, and small crowds gathered around them to clap and throw coins. Unidentifiable but absolutely delectable scents flooded her nostrils, only making Amaya all the more eager to reach wherever it was that they were going to have their lunch.

"There it is." Noctis gestured to a location across the street to their right. Almost getting her hopes up that they'd arrived, Amaya was briefly disappointed when a building that was clearly under construction came into view. Working men and women surrounded it, climbing up and down ladders, laying down bricks, and could be seen installing various appliances through the dusty windows. What stood out, however, were the two out right in front of the edifice, seemingly supervising the construction. One was a tall, neatly dressed bespectacled man with his hair gelled back, and the other was…a duck?

She had to have been hallucinating.

"A McDuck Enterprises project, huh?" Lightning asked as they continued on their way down the street.

"'McDuck…as in that giant duck?" A dumbfound Amaya kept craning her neck to look, even as the construction site drew further and further out of the group's view. Sure enough, the duck still stood there, continuing to converse with the man. It - he? - was well-dressed too, with a fancy coat and a tophat to boot!

"Yep!" Prompto confirmed, walking with his hands clasped behind his head. "Scrooge McDuck. And yes, as you can see, he is a rather large walking, talking duck. Don't exactly know what world he came from - he likes to play coy, but he acts like a bigshot. Probably was one before coming here. Big financier for a lot of the businesses in town. Right now, he's working with our buddy, fellow Keeper and third roommate, Ignis, on opening up a new fancy restaurant – or, Bistro, rather – for the town. Apparently it's been a big dream of his for a while, but he hasn't been able to find a chef with the talent and skill set required."

"Oh, so that's the 'Bistro' you were talking about earlier," Amaya recalled.

"Yep." Prompto's arms fell to his sides as he turned back to face her. "We were grabbin' the intel while you were doing your shopping. And the menu Iggy is cookin' up sounds in-cred-ible so far!"

"But until it opens up," Noctis cut in, stopping at the end of the block, "this is the best place in town." A modest sized cream-colored establishment came into view. Its entrance was lined with teal-colored doors, and capped off with a small burgundy awning. A colorful string of pastel-colored balloons, large white feathers, and light golden ribbons was hung around the building's perimeter, quivering slightly in the Borough's breeze. Above it all hung a sign decorated with vines and lilies that read 'Tiana's Place.'

A bell chimed as the doors opened. It was clearly a busy place, though it had rather humble decor; larger tables covered in green cloth were placed against the walls, with smaller ones filling up the more open spaces in the middle of the floor. People sat comfortably in white wicker chairs, and the sounds of chatter and cutlery clinking against plates permeated the air. Smooth-toned music played with some sort of horn-like instrument hummed overhead. The inviting aroma that greeted them inside was unlike anything Amaya had ever smelled before, making her mouth water.

"Well, well, if it ain't my favorite group o' young Keepers!" A jovial woman appeared behind the host stand. As she gathered menus for them, Amaya couldn't help but admire how radiant her dark skin was, and there was something comforting about the unfamiliar drawl she spoke with. "Right this way!"

She led them to a table set right against one of the windows. Noctis and Prompto pulled out chairs to sit on one side, while Lightning and Amaya occupied the other.

"My, I didn't realize we had a newcomer among us!" the woman gasped. "My name's Tiana. You make yourself right at home here, now, while I go grab somethin' special for you."

"Oh, that's –" But before Amaya could formulate a response, Tiana had already whizzed off to the back. The rest of the group had already begun thumbing through the menu.

"Coming with newbies is the best!" Prompto turned a page. "Tiana's beignets are gonna blow your mind!"

"What's a ben-yay?" Amaya tilted her head.

"You'll see," Noctis smirked, eyes still glued to his own menu. Before Amaya could begin looking at hers, Tiana had returned.

"Now here we are, fresh out the frier with a drizzle of honey, and," Tiana set down a silver-colored platter, "topped off irresistibly with some good ol' sugar." Amaya practically inhaled the white powder as her hostess began generously adding it on top of the steaming hot pile of what looked to be some sort of fried dough. "Well, just starin' at it won't do you no good. Dig in, now!"

Already enticed by the allure of scrumptious-looking morsels, it didn't take Amaya much more convincing to grab one. Her eyes shot open the moment the dough cracked open between her teeth; the pastry's pillowy insides practically melted on her tongue, and silky honey coated her entire mouth. "Wow…" She didn't even bother wiping away the crystals of sugar that clung to her lips before going for a second bite.

"Looks like you've converted Amaya to certified beignet devotee status, Tiana," Prompto observed, reaching out to pull one for himself. The rest of the group followed suit, and though they had all had countless beignets at this point, their expressions of wonder as they bit in weren't unlike that of the first-timer that they were accompanying.

And yes, that included Lightning.

"There's a reason y'all are some of my favorite customers," Tiana chuckled, digging into her pockets. "Now then, y'all ready to place an order?" She retrieved a notepad and a pen.

"Oh!" Amaya snapped out of her daze. She was half-tempted to lick the remaining sugar off of her fingers, but thought better of it. After hastily wiping her hands off with a napkin, she flipped open her menu.

"I'm happy to answer any questions you may have." Tiana must have observed the completely lost expression on the girl's face.

"You really can't go wrong with anything you choose," Noctis added.

"Hmm…is there anything you recommend?" Though Amaya found the descriptions written underneath the offerings somewhat helpful, there were still so many words she didn't recognize.

"Gumbo is our signature dish!" Tiana explained. "It's a hearty platter brimmin' with succulent chicken and andouille sausage, buttery rice, and delicious root veggies." She had certainly piqued Amaya's interest with her colorful description.

"I'll try that then."

"Make that two," Lightning added.

"I think I'll get the shrimp n' grits." Prompto passed his menu over to Noctis, who'd already gathered the other three.

"I'll take the Po'boy." Noctis passed the menus over to Tiana, who was finishing scrawling down their orders. "But –"

"No veggies." Tiana winked. "I got you, Mister Noctis. And the rest of y'all. I'll get that right out to ya in a jiffy!" As she walked away, Amaya had to stop herself from laughing. The only other person she knew with such a disdain for vegetables was her five year old sister.

"May I be excused?" Haru was always the first one to be finished at the dinner table.

"Darling, you haven't even touched your vegetables!" Mom would almost always chide.

"But mommyyyy," she would whine, "they're so icky!"

"What's that Mr. Carrot?" Sora would lean over, cupping his ear over her leftovers. "Aww, Haru hurt your feelings? Only a 'big meanie' would call you 'icky' and refuse to eat you?"

"I-I'm not a big meanie!" Her big blue eyes would turn glassy as she begrudgingly took a bite to prove herself, while the rest of the family showered her with praises around the table.

"You okay, Amaya?" Prompto's question snapped her back to the present.

"Oh, um…" Not realizing that she'd been visibly frowning, she tried her best to turn the corners of her lips back up, but to no avail. "Sorry, I was just…thinking about my family."

"Hey, there's no need to apologize," Prompto reassured her before moving to scratch his head. "Let's see, what did the Cap say to do in this situation again?"

"What was your family like?" Noctis asked without skipping a beat. Inhaling sharply, Amaya sat herself up straight before answering.

"W-well, I have my parents and my younger brother and sister. Mom and Dad both worked really hard and were busy people, but I could still go to them for anything. Haru, my little sister, could light up any room she walked into. My brother Sora could, too." Her face fell further. "He was the last person I was with when our Island…" She blinked vigorously to try to prevent the tears forming in her eyes from dripping down. Through blurry vision, she could see someone had held a napkin out in front of her. She graciously accepted it, though was admittedly a bit shocked when she noticed it had been Lightning who had offered it to her.

"We – well, these two get it. They were separated from their families, too," Prompto explained.

"It's tough," Lightning responded stiffly. "I…had a little sister."

"I-I'm so sorry." Amaya dabbed the corner of her eye with the napkin. "You, too, Noctis?"

"A younger sister, and a brother who was older," he nodded. "My grandparents raised us – our brother was adopted, and my parents died when my sister and I were toddlers. Though I guess all of us are in the same boat there."

"There was a terrible plague that hit our world one year," Prompto explained. "Light, her sister and I ended up in an orphanage because of it. Along with lots of other kids."

"My goodness, you guys have all been through a lot." Amaya shrank a bit, thinking back to how simple her life was before all this happened, while also recognizing the common threads between what they'd all been through. "...How do you guys handle it?"

"You end up figuring it out." Noctis placed his elbow on the table, his cheek resting against his palm. "Some days are tougher than others. Those are good days to take it out harder on the Heartless."

"I…don't think that's quite for me."

"You'll find your own way of dealing with it." Prompto flashed her a small smile. "We've had ten years to figure it out for ourselves."

"Ten years?" Amaya's eyes widened. "You guys must have been really little then, when your world…" A solemn silence loomed over the table.

"We were all what, six at the time?" Prompto began. "To be honest, I don't remember a whole lot about it. It was a beautiful day, and then everything went dark all of a sudden. It was complete chaos. Heartless were everywhere – it was a miracle I survived. If it weren't for Noct, I wouldn't even be here. He grabbed my hand and got me through the portal."

"'Portal'?"

"It's a mystery to us, too," Prompto explained. "No one else we've ever talked to had something like that when their world disappeared, but somehow Radiant Garden – our world – did. It was like a huge ball of light, and it led everyone who went through it to here. Of course, a lot of people didn't make it, but that's why there's so many more of us from there than there are people from any other world here."

"I see." Amaya began to sift through the events of her own world's destruction for what must have been the umpteenth time in these past days. Of course, to her, everything about the whole ordeal was insane, but there seemed to be a common sequence of events for others who'd gone through the same. Was there anything unique about her own experience? She thought back to the strange transformation of the Secret Place's entrance. "Were there any strange like…physical doors that opened that day?"

"Not that we saw, but some people have mentioned that happening when they lost their own worlds," Prompto responded.

"Apparently, those doors are what reveals the 'heart' of the world," Noctis added. "Once the Heartless get to that, it's over."

"So that's how it works." Amaya shuddered, remembering the thousands of glowing eyes that chased her and her brother that night. The only thing that could stop them was… "What about a Key?" Noctis and Prompto perked up immediately.

"Did…did you see something like that that night?" asked Noctis. Amaya hesitantly nodded.

"One of our best friends had just been consumed by these…vines of darkness," she recalled. "I thought Sora – my brother – and I were going to be, too, but then all of a sudden this giant light flashed. Sora and I ended up being safe for the time being, but there was this strange, giant key that appeared in his hands. Before that, the Heartless wouldn't even flinch when he would try to beat them with his wooden sword, but with that, one swing would take care of most of them." She glanced up to see Prompto and Noctis sharing a look between each other.

"Say…have you mentioned this to any of the other Keepers?" Noctis raised a brow.

"N-no…but I probably should have, shouldn't I?" Amaya began to fiddle with the end of her braid. "I'm sorry, I should have said a lot of things sooner, but –"

"Hey, hey, you didn't do anything wrong," Noctis reassured her. "I was just being curious, is all. But so, what happened after your brother got the Key?" Amaya recalled how they saw the metal door, how their other best friend disappeared behind it before they could reach her, and then the towering, dark monster that appeared as everything else faded away.

"Darkside," Lightning muttered. "The giant Heartless you saw," she explained, seeing the other girl's quizzical expression.

"R-Right. I was so, so scared, but Sora was somehow able to be brave. Then again, he's always been better than me at handling scary situations. He took it on and was able to beat it, but once he did, what little that remained of our world completely disappeared. We tried to hold on to each other as long as possible, but…"

"But you ended up here, and he and this mystery Key didn't," Noctis concluded. Amaya nodded, shoulders slumped.

"Alright, so what do you two geniuses know about this 'Key' that keeps getting brought up?" inquired Lightning. For all the disinterest she'd been feigning throughout the day, she was now leaning in, actively listening to the group's conversation.

"Not much," Prompto answered. "Apparently the higher-ups are on the hunt for something like that. Heard about it from Ignis." Lightning's gaze shifted to Noctis.

"They didn't even tell Your Royal Ass?"

Noctis shook his head, brow furrowed.

"So…Sora's 'Key' was something very important?" Amaya hesitantly asked, unsure how to read the body language of her peers.

"Potentially," Noctis sighed, the tension in his shoulders visibly easing. "Let's get you to the Captain when we get back. He might have some more answers for all of us."

"But, if that's the case, we'll have to find him, right? Sora, I mean? Is that…will that be possible?" She could hear the sound of her heart thumping in her chest, and wondered if everyone else could, too.

"I can't make any promises, but…" Noctis trailed off, appearing lost in thought. Shoulders stiff, Amaya's hands were clasped tightly in her lap.

"You know," Prompto began, "the Keepers back on our world, they were more than just town security the way we are. They used to travel to other worlds."

"It was a secret organization," Noctis interjected, "though I guess the World Order doesn't really matter that much in a place where everyone's from a different world."

"'World Order'?" Amaya inquired.

"Concealing the fact that there's other worlds out there besides the ones we came from," Noctis explained. "Only a select few people were able to travel between the worlds. They were expected to keep that information to themselves, and blend in whenever they went somewhere new. Otherwise, if everyone out there knew there were other worlds and how to get between them, you'd risk a lot of chaos."

"That makes sense," Amaya nodded. "How would one be able to travel between worlds? Would you just go to the world border?" She recalled Riku's ridiculous plan to take the raft out to find the one on their own Island.

"Well, it's more complicated than just walking up to it. You'd need a special vessel called a 'gummi ship.' We had special engineers who'd make them, and the Keepers would take them to carry out their missions."

"All supervised by Noct's very own grandfather," Prompto winked.

"So that's how you know so much about this." Amaya's mouth opened slightly at the realization. "He must have been someone very important."

"He was the ruler of our world," Prompto added.

"Oh!" Amaya sat up straighter. "So Lightning wasn't kidding when she called you 'royal.'"

"Please, it's really not that serious," Noctis waved her off, his cheeks tinged slightly pink. "Not like I ever really learned anything about ruling. I'm fine being treated the same as everyone else."

"Are you?" Lightning inquired.

"What are you trying to get at, Light?"

There was a pregnant pause before Lightning reclined in her chair once more. "Whatever."

"Um," Amaya began, wanting to both further sate her curiosity and also diffuse the tension, "so, these gummi ships, are you guys still able to use them?"

Noctis shook his head. "There's special parts you need, and we've gotten some over the years. Sometimes they come with new arrivals, and if you're lucky, a Heartless may drop a part. But we don't have enough to put one together, much less someone who knows how to do that right now."

"But you never know, maybe someone could show up with one!" The elbow Noctis nudged into Prompto's shoulder after he said that did not go unnoticed by either of the girls. Amaya didn't know what to make of it, while Lightning's eyes narrowed. Before either of them could push the subject further, a rather large, burly man appeared behind the boys.

"These two aren't causing you ladies any trouble, are they?" He slung his giant, heavily tattooed arms around both boys' shoulders, leaning his head in in between theirs.

"Geez, Gladio, where did you come from?" a surprised Prompto coughed, tapping on the bigger man's forearm which was a bit too close to his throat for comfort.

"'Bout to head out on duty," he replied, now resting his hands on the backs of the boys' chairs. "Looked like you guys were slacking off on your own shift through the window, so thought I'd investigate."

"We're not slacking!" Prompto responded haughtily. "Our mission was to show Amaya here around town, and that's exactly what we're doing!"

"Ah, right." The man shifted his attention to Amaya. "Nice to meet you. I'm Gladiolus, but everyone around here calls me Gladio."

"It's nice to meet you, Gladio," she replied politely. "I take it you're a Keeper, too?"

"Yep, although most of my assignments involve babysitting at least one of these three." He gestured to the rest of the table. Lightning, uninterested, blew a strand of hair away from her face, while Noctis simply rolled his eyes.

"Well, they've all been really helpful to me today. I'm really grateful."

"Hear that?" Prompto crossed his arms and held his head up high. "We've been 'really helpful.'"

"Oh yeah? And how many Heartless did you all have to take down on the way over here?" Gladio raised a brow.

"Th-thankfully they didn't have to take on too many." Amaya could feel a bead of sweat forming on her forehead as she thought back to the nerve-wracking walk over from the base through the districts, where the creatures were active. "There were only a couple, and Lightning got them before I even had a chance to see them!"

"And guess who played hooky the moment we got to the Square?" Lightning leaned back in her chair with a smirk.

"That so?" Gladio raised a brow at Prompto and Noctis, whose expressions had suddenly darkened. "Looks like we'll have some fun drills to work on during training tomorrow."

"Aren't you the one slacking off by talking to us right now?" Noctis shot back. Gladio flashed an unamused expression at him before letting out a loud exhale.

"Well, speaking of babysitting missions…"

"Yikes, you're not talking about Kain, are you?" Prompto seemed to be looking at someone through the window, and after seeing Gladio nod, Amaya followed his line of vision to see who he was talking about.

Standing right across the street was a man who seemed to be about the same size as Gladio, though his garb was extremely different to most of the other Keepers she'd met so far. Elegant violet armor with thorny spikes covered nearly every inch of his body, including a dragon-shaped helmet which obscured most of his face. Amaya couldn't help but feel a shiver down her spine when his head turned in their direction – though he wasn't in the building with them, there was something…off about this man's aura.

"Anyway, I shouldn't keep him waiting any longer." Gladiolus scratched the back of his neck. "You guys stay out of trouble on your way back, alright?"

"Yes, sir," Prompto replied with a salute.

"And if any of these guys don't pull their weight, you let me know." This was directed at Amaya, who nodded in response with a smile. The group bade goodbye before he made his way towards the exit.

"So, who was that?" Amaya inquired as the group watched Gladio cross the street to catch up with the man they called 'Kain.'

"Well, we go way back with Gladio," Prompto began.

"Oh, sorry – I mean, Gladio seemed nice. It sounds like he looks out a lot for you guys. But, I was just curious about –"

"Kain?" Lightning guessed, and accurately so. A heavy silence at the table followed, and for a moment Amaya almost regretted asking.

"My advice would be to keep my distance, if I were you," Noctis finally said. "He's still too much of a wildcard."

"Up until a few months ago, the Keepers were exclusively people from Radiant Garden," Prompto added, sensing Amaya's desire for more context. "Pretty much everyone who came through to the Borough after us had no combat experience, or they had their own niches that they fit better. Like running restaurants, for example." He gestured to their current surroundings.

"That changed when the crew from Baron arrived." Noctis clasped his hands together, resting his elbows on the table. "Kain, Cecil and Rosa."

"Oh, I've met Cecil before." Amaya recalled her encounter with the man in the medieval white armor the first time she went down into Seventh Heaven, and the way his appearance and mannerisms stood out amongst everyone else she'd met at that point. "But, being around him wasn't so…unsettling?"

"He's come a long way. Before Baron was destroyed, Cecil and Kain were warriors for a kingdom that thrived off the power of darkness."

"The power…of darkness?" Amaya gulped. "But…isn't that the same power that the Heartless thrive off of? The same power that destroys worlds?" She received three solemn nods.

"When they first arrived, Cecil and Kain's armors weren't too different from each other." Prompto leaned back in his chair, his eyes glued up at the ceiling as he recalled the events. "Cecil's might have even been a couple shades darker than Kain's, and his mask made him look like the devil. Couldn't even see an inch of his face."

"Seeing the damage that darkness had done to his world, and the kind of work we were doing here, it didn't take him long to decide to give up his power," Noctis began. "Almost everything changed about him when he made that choice. The mask disappeared, his armor turned white, and apparently some of his abilities in battle changed, too. By all accounts, he's been a great ally to have on our team, especially with all his experience."

"And 'experience' is why the Captain insists we keep Kain around, too," Lightning crossed her arms and legs, sneering.

"So because he still has that dark armor…does that mean he has some sort of dark abilities?" Amaya shuddered at the thought.

"Something like that," Prompto nodded. "He's a gifted dragoon - uses a lance for a weapon, and a powerful jumper. Apparently, he used to use the power of darkness to complement his abilities back on his world. But, since coming here, he's been relying solely on his physical strength."

"Or so he says." Brow furrowed, Noctis began to fiddle with the utensils in front of him.

"After seeing what it did to his home, the ruin it's brought so many people…why would he even want to be close to a power like that?" Amaya wrapped her arms around herself.

"I don't get it either." Prompto shook his head.

"It's dumbassery," Lightning stated curtly.

"It might be him coping with his losses in his own way, trying to," Noctis made air quotes, "'hold on to what's familiar to him.' That's what the Captain theorizes, anyway. Wants us to give him a chance. Cecil insists the same."

"To be fair, he hasn't let us down so far," Prompto shrugged. "Maybe he'll come around soon."

Amaya had a feeling that the rest of the group found Prompto's conclusion to be dissatisfactory. There was still so much she wanted to ask, so much she couldn't understand. But there was also so much for her to digest, between all the information she had just received, and the food that Tiana was bringing to them on the large platters she was carrying.

"Whew, thank you for your patience!" The loose curls that framed Tiana's face bounced as she began matching the dishes to their rightful patrons. "Let's see, here, shrimp n' grits for Mister Prompto, a vegetable-free Po'boy for Mister Noctis, and a couple o' gumbos for my lady friends here. Bon appetit!" A large bowl was placed in front of Amaya, filled to the brim with an enticing-looking stew. There was a small pile of rice in the center sprinkled with fresh-looking green herbs, surrounded by a multitude of colorful vegetables she'd never seen before. Pieces of sausage and chicken were strewn about, smothered in aromatic sauces and spices.

"Whoa," Amaya heard herself say, not quite remembering when she picked up the utensils that were now in her hands, but very glad that they were there for her use.

"Make sure you get a lil' bit of everything, now," Tiana advised, watching on expectantly as Amaya began to dig her spoon into the gumbo. She did exactly as instructed, breaking off little bits of each meat and vegetable before grabbing a few grains of rice to concoct the perfect bite. Taking care to softly blow away at the hot steam first, she drew it up to her mouth. What followed was an explosion of flavors that coated her tongue.

"This is incredible!" Amaya had to remind herself to swallow before singing Tiana's praises. "I've never tasted anything like this before."

"Can never go wrong with anything on the menu, but the gumbo is definitely special," Noctis agreed, setting his sandwich down for a glass of water.

"Y'all flatter me," a flushed Tiana waved them off, clearly pleased by the group's reception.

"Seriously, Tiana," Prompto began, having barely swallowed a bite of his grits, "if your food here is already this good, I can't even imagine how mind-blowing the original recipes are!"

"'Original recipes'?" Amaya inquired, dabbing the grease away from her lips with a napkin after having had a few more delectable bites from her platter.

"Yes, well, everything I learned about food, I learned from my daddy back home." Tiana smoothed out her apron before clasping her hands as she began her recollection. "His famous gumbo was the first recipe I ever learned to make. The ingredients changed from time to time dependin' on what we could get our hands on, but," she brushed a few loose curls behind her ears, "he topped everything a generous dash o' love."

"I have to say, I can definitely tell a lot of heart went into making this." Amaya eagerly went in for another bite, craving the warmth that radiated through her body with every chew and swallow.

"I'm glad to hear that, I really am. It's certainly the most important ingredient of 'em all. Still," Tiana's gaze turned downward, "there's lotsa wonderful Southern ingredients that I've just never been able to find here. I'm so grateful for Mister Scrooge for fundin' this joint, and allowin' me access to gardens full of vegetables and herbs I ain't ever heard of, but, I still can't get my food to taste exactly like it did back home."

"I see…" Amaya put her spoon down and began to fiddle with her napkin. How many flavors from her own world would she ever encounter here? Would she ever taste the same juicy tropical fruit, the same salty fish, the same –

"What I'm hearing is, once the worlds are restored, we're gonna have to do a huge intergalactic food tour, am I right?" Prompto's cheerful interjection interrupted her thoughts.

"That's right," Noctis agreed, flashing a small smile Amaya's way before turning to Tiana. "I need to try this 'Cajun seasoning' you're always hyping up."

"The first time y'all come visit, it'll be on the house!" Tiana winked, her mood visibly lifted. "Already got a place I'm workin' on savin' up for back home, and it's gonna be the hottest place in town, jus' y'all wait."

"I believe it." Noctis swallowed another bite of his sandwich. "You're already holding it down here."

"This is only the beginnin'." She rolled up one of her sleeves, flexing her arm. "If there's one thing my daddy taught me, it was that the only way you can achieve your dreams is to work hard. I worked hard savin' up for my restaurant back home, and I'll continue to work hard here to keep my Keepers fed." She scanned the table with an appreciative look. "It's y'all's efforts that'll be keepin' us all alive and kickin' until that day finally comes, and we're all able to go home."

Tiana bade them farewell, citing her need to tend to the rest of her hungry customers. Amaya continued to peck away at her food, continuing to enjoy every bite. Despite the meal's richness, she somehow felt lighter than when she began. Darkness had seemed to surround her every turn in the forms of monsters and men these past few days. It was refreshing seeing someone maintain hope, like a lighthouse on a stormy night.

Then again, Tiana wasn't the only one. Noctis, Prompto, and Lightning – they all worked hard and put their lives at risk day after day, and not just to keep the Borough and its people safe. They fought for a future they believed in. A future Amaya desperately wanted to believe in, too.

She'd never been very charismatic the way Sora was. She didn't have a fraction of the strength or confidence Riku had. She didn't have much of a talent for making things the way Kairi did. She was horrible at adapting to stressful situations. She froze in the face of anything scary. She was a giant crybaby.

And yet, she was the one here.

It was a silly thought, but perhaps somehow, some way, she could find her own way to shape her future.


"Man, Tiana never disappoints!" Prompto reached up to stretch as the rest of the group filed out of the restaurant.

"It really was good," Amaya agreed, clutching her pouch of leftovers. The thought of being able to have more for her dinner tonight was already making her mouth tingle despite how stuffed her stomach felt. "Thank you all so much for treating me."

"Our pleasure." Noctis gripped her bag of shopping from earlier. "Are we all ready to head back?"

"About damn time." Lightning rested her hands on her hips.

"Heyyy, don't take the fact that you were the first one done out on us," Prompto teased, not relenting to the icy glare he received from her.

"Whatever. Let's get a move on." Lightning didn't wait to begin striding ahead, and the rest of the party quickly followed. Noctis and Prompto walked side by side, Amaya not far behind them.

It had been quite the day. She'd seen and experienced so many new things, and the thought of learning more over her time here certainly made her heart skip a beat. Still, her mind always went back to her family, her friends. What would they think? Would they believe her when she told them about this place? Would she ever even get that chance –

"Oh!" Amaya yelped. So deep in her thoughts, it seemed she'd lost awareness of her surroundings, suddenly finding her face buried in Noctis' back. "I'm so sorry!" Peeling her face away from his leather jacket, she looked up, expecting to receive a peeved reaction.

But Noctis didn't respond. He didn't move. He didn't even flinch.

No one did.

Her eyes began to wander. The sparse clouds were affixed in their positions overhead. Pigeons seemed about to land on a building up ahead, their feet remaining inches away from its cobbled rooftop. A falling leaf from a tree on the sidewalk stayed floating halfway down its trunk, and Amaya could count four little holes in its lamina. People stood around the Square, mid-step, mid-conversation, mid-stretch, all now-unmoving.

Time had stopped.


A/N: *pretends it hasn't been over five years since this fic has been updated*

Honestly, it feels really good to be back. I so apologize for the wait for this chapter! Life got busy, but I never stopped thinking about this story and I'm glad to be writing it again. Thank you to all the wonderful people who have kept me encouraged over the years to continue developing these characters and plot threads. Without you, I wouldn't be back here! I know this website has changed quite a bit over the years, so I'm not sure how many readers I've retained over the years, but if you're still here, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope to hear your thoughts in a review!