[Name] II

Going Home, Part 2

Fire.  It was everywhere.  You were standing in middle of a burning room and smoked billowed around you.

"[Name]."  A voice whispered.  You turned around and tried to find where it came from.

"[Name]."  This time the voice was louder.  Blindly, you turned and searched in every direction for the source of it.  A dark chuckle came from behind you and you spun around in time to see a figure emerge from the flames.  His face was covered by the smoke, so all you could see was a pristine white suit. 

"What a pleasant reunion.  Tell me, how does it feel to be A MURDERER!"  As he said those words, two burned hands shot out and grabbed your arms.  Massive scorch marks appeared on his suit and smoke cleared to reveal the face of Rufus Shinra, almost burned beyond recognition.  You stared in horror at the black, skeletal face and opened your mouth to scream.  But the smoke surrounding you filled your throat and prevented any noise from escaping.

 You awoke with a start and frantically took in your surroundings.  No fire.  No smoke.  And no zombie-Rufus.  You were back in your dorm room.  Checking the clock, you saw that you had an hour until you had to wake up for school.  Sighing, you closed your eyes and tried to calm your fast-beating heart.  Secretly, you hoped you wouldn't fall asleep again again.

The first bell rang as you sat in your seat.  Sora was in front of you, Kairi was to your right, Roxas was to your left, Vanitas was behind you and Riku was to his left.

"So [Name], are you excited for the camping trip?"  Sora asked as he turned around in his seat.  You nodded and smiled at him.

"Hey [Name], are you alright?  You look a little tired," Roxas asked with concern in his voice.

"You idiot, don't you know you never tell a woman that," Vanitas snapped.  "But he's right, you look like crap."  You rolled your eyes and faced forward as Xigbar began to teach the class.  The class went by just like any other day and soon you were packing up for your next period.  You had just slung on your schoolbag when Riku put a hand on your shoulder.

"Is everything okay?"  You nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine.  I just didn't sleep very much last night."  Riku accepted that answer and walked with you to math class.

"The goddess returns," Genesis announced when you walked into the room.  You smiled.

"Hey, Genesis."  You took a seat between Zexion and Noctis.  Namine sat behind you with Genesis on her right and Riku took a seat in front of you.  You greeted everyone else.

"[Name], did you study for the test today?"  Noctis asked. 

"What test?"  You froze.  Wait, you vaguely remember Luxord saying something about a pop quiz.  Was that really today?  You groaned and slumped in your seat. 

"First I have nightmares about some creep and now a math test?!  At least it's not Monday."

"Don't worry, [Name].  I'm sure you'll do just fine," Namine giggled.

"Besides," Zexion added.  "Luxord never actually puts these tests in the grading system.  He's too lazy for that."

"Oh, well in that case, bring it on!"  You said sitting up straighter.

The day went on and soon you were walking out of the locker room after training class. 

"Hey [Name], good job sparring today.  You've really improved."

"Thanks, Zack," you smiled at him as he caught up to you.  Reno and Yuffie soon joined you as well.

"Hey, have you guys seen Leon?  I want to ask him if they heard anything from police teams."  While you weren't too worried, you just wanted to see if everything was going okay.  Reno nodded.

"Yeah, I saw him leave with Tifa and Cloud.  But they still might be on the school grounds."  The four of you hurried out of the front doors and scanned the courtyard.  It didn't take long to find Leon, Cloud, and Tifa.

"Hey guys, what's up?"  Tifa asked as you approached.

"I was just wondering if there was any news about the police teams," you said. 

"We were actually on our way to the station to find out," Leon replied.

"But I'm sure you guys can come with us," Cloud added as he looked to Leon for confirmation.  Leon nodded.

"Then let's get going,"  you said.

The seven of you walked into the police station.  Fang and Auron were talking a few feet behind the front desk and didn't notice you at first.  It wasn't until Leon coughed that they realized you were there.

"What are you guys all doing here?"  Auron asked.

"We wanted to see if a broadcast has been sent from the teams recently," said Leon.  Fang shook her head.

"There hasn't been anything yet to-"  She stopped talking suddenly and lifted her hand to signal everyone to be quiet.  After a moment of silence, a distant beeping could be heard.  Auron and Fang rushed to the back of the station and opened a door that was on the left wall.  The rest of you quickly followed.

"Is it from them?"  Tifa asked as everyone crowded into a small room.  Inside was a wooden table and chair.  On top of the table was something that looked like a CB radio and a microphone.  Along the walls were various screens that showed footage of around the island.  Numerous video tapes were stacked in a cardboard box in the corner.

"This must be where all of the security footage is."

Fang pressed a few buttons and flipped a few switches and the beeping stopped.  She held down the button on the microphone and began speaking.

"Hello, this is the base team at Destiny Islands.  Where are you broadcasting from and what is the report?"  She let go of the button and waited.  There was static for about a minute.  Then a response.

"We.....from the........lost........-gency."

The broadcast had been fuzzy and almost impossible to make out. 

"Can you repeat that?"  Fang asked, pressing the microphone button again.  She was met with static.  Everyone waited quietly for about five minutes for the team to reply.  When it was evident the team wouldn't respond, Auron sighed and turned of the machine.

"You know what this means," Leon said.

"What?"  You asked.  What could a few seconds of broadcast mean?

"It means," Auron said slowly.  "That we'll have to fly out immediately and see what's going on."

"But you don't even know where they broadcasted from!"  Yuffie protested.  Leon shook his head.

"It doesn't matter.  We'll have to go out to every island that the teams were assigned to and see who sent it and why." 

"But that could take months!"  You cried.  Dread washed over you as you realized that your friends might encounter danger and you wouldn't be able to hear from them for some time.

"What if I never see them again!  What if they come across something like a mutant army or an island of bloodthirsty cannibals or-"

Needless to say, you were jumping to the worst conclusions immediately.  Leon put a hand on your shoulder to calm you down.

"Relax, it might not be a big deal.  The team probably just broke their radio and need a replacement.  We'll be back before you know it."  You nodded, but you were still just as worried.

"Besides," Fang added.  "They need us.  This is something we have to do."