[Name] II

Going Home, Part 5

"Are y'all telling me we've found jack shit."  Cid said once everyone had returned back to the ship.  It turns out that no one on the island remembered seeing Leon, Auron, or Fang.  Panting and the sound of hurried steps alerted you of Yuffie's entrance.  She had appeared with Tifa trailing behind her.

"Wait...  Cid we...  Found something," Yuffie said as she hunched over, out of breath.

"Girl, where did you two run from?"  Cid asked.

"The other side...  Of the island," Tifa responded as she leaned on Yuffie.

"What is it?  What did you two find?"  Cloud asked as he took a step towards the two women.  Yuffie took a couple deep breaths before responding.

"No one remembered seeing anyone that looked like our friends, but we talked to someone who thought they saw some people go into the rain forest."

"Why is that of interest?"  Genesis asked.

"The locals say that they never go into the rain forest, they believe there's something evil in there.  Whoever went into the rain forest isn't from here, so there's a good chance that it's our friends," Tifa answered.

"Well that's great and all," Reno spoke up, "but in case you haven't noticed, the rain forest takes up 90% of the island, they could be anywhere by now."

The group became silent as they started thinking.  How could they find their friends quickly in such a vast forest?

"Cid," you started, "do you think you could fly low enough against the rain forest so we could find a sign of our friends?"  Cid mulled the idea over before answering slowly.

"Sure, I can try that."

Everyone was adamantly looking out their window as Cid slowly flew above the tree tops.  It turns out that it was no trouble to fly this low because most of the trees were about the same height.  After fifteen minutes, someone finally spoke up.

"I think I see a clearing, but I'm not sure if it's natural or not," Roxas said.  Riku leaned over to see for himself.

"I don't think it's natural, it's in the exact shape of a circle."  With that, you quickly got up to go alert Cid of what had been seen.  Opening the door to the cockpit, Cid glanced back before returning his attention to the gummi ship.

"What's the matter, darlin'?"  He asked.

"I just wanted to let you know that we passed a clearing that looks suspicious."  He gave you a curt nod before responding.

"Alright, if we don't see anything else we'll land in the clearing and check it out.  Meanwhile, you can sit here in the co-pilot seat and help me look."  You stepped forward and sat down in the leather seat that was beside Cid's.  Your eyes scanned the landscape threw the gummi ship's front window, but you noticed that the farther inland you flew, the thicker the trees became.  After a few more minutes of flying, it was almost impossible to see passed the canopy of the rain forest.

"Damn wall of trees," Cid muttered under his breath before sighing and shaking his head.  "Looks like we'll have to land in the clearing."  Turning the ship around, Cid landed the aircraft a few minutes later.  By now, the sun was setting and stars began to appear.  Cid leaned over to the intercom on the dashboard and held down the button.

"It looks like we'll have to spend the night here.  We'll explore this place in the mornin'," he announced to everyone.

The morning fog surrounded the trees and hugged the ground.  Visibility was lowered by a considerable amount and the fog, like an annoying in-law, showed no sign of leaving any time soon.

"I guess we should all stick together this time," Cloud frowned, "wouldn't want anyone getting lost."

"What are we even supposed to be looking for?"  You asked.

"Anything out of the ordinary, I suppose," Roxas shrugged.  The group proceed to search the clearing for anything that might help them find their friends.  You were searching through some brush when you heard someone call out.

"Guys!  I think I found something!"  You turned and rushed over to where Tifa was standing.  She pulled back part of a bush to show everyone a worn trail.

"Where do you think it leads?"  Zack asked from behind you.

"Only one way to find out," Vanitas replied as he pushed through the crowd and began following the trail.  The rest of the group quickly caught up and walked along with him.  The trail twisted and winded around the thick trees.  It led to an even thicker grouping of trees before abruptly stopping.

"Maybe there's something hidden here.  I mean, a trail wouldn't just lead to nothing, right?"  Kairi said.  So the group continued through the trees.  Everyone was forced to walk in a single-file line due to how narrow the spaces in between the trees were.  It became harder to walk due to the knotted tree roots that littered the uneven ground.  A flash of silver caught your eye as you navigated through the trees.  Underneath a patch of grass was an object no bigger than a dime.  You side-stepped through the trees on your right and knelt down.

"[Name], what's up?"  Ventus asked from behind you.  You picked up the object and stood up.

"I think I found something," you said.  You walked back to where the rest of the group was and held out the object for them to see.  It was a silver ear cuff.

"Do you think this is Fang's?"  You asked.

"Maybe, it certainly looks like something she would own," Namine said.

"Besides," Noctis added, "we haven't found any other clues, so this is the best thing we've got to go on."

 "What did you guys find?"  A voice behind you called out.  Everyone turned to see where this newcomer was.  About twenty feet away, was Leon.  His hair was a mess and had a couple of leaves caught in it.  Dirt was smeared over his face and clothes to the point where he was almost unrecognizable.  Everyone in the group, including you, gaped at the sight of him.

"What's going on?"  Auron appeared from the bushes with Fang close behind him.  "Well, look who it is."  Fang walked up to you to look at the object in your hands.

"Thanks, I've been looking for this," she said as she took the ear cuff and put it back on.  Meanwhile, your group was still in stunned silence.