[Name] II

Going Home, Part 7

After the moment of silence, the group exploded.

"You mean to tell me that you 've been here the whole time and didn't even called to let us know you were okay?!" Cloud shouted.

"I can't believe you guys. We've been worried sick and you've just been lounging around on the island," Zack cried. Others also released their frustration on the three officers. Auron finally held up his hands to silence everyone.

"Calm down. We've been trying to contact you guys ever since we got here. We don't know why it wasn't working."  Fang cut in.

"We suspect it has something to do with the Lifestream surrounding the island."

The group paused for a moment.

"Okay, I know I'm not the only one thinkin' this, but what exactly is the Lifestream? " Axel asked. Fang, Auron, and Leon shared a look.

"Let's head back to our campsite before we Explain anything, it's kind of a long story," Said Leon.

The three led the rest of the group to a small clearing where three tents were set-up with various camping equipment set-up around them. A fire pit full of charred wood was sitting in the middle of everything. The whole group sat down in a circle around the campfire. The three police officers sat in awkward silence as the rest of the group looked at them expectantly.

 "I don't really know how to start this ..." Leon admitted sheepishly.

"Well ... the Lifestream is basically all around us. It surrounds the whole island," Auron started after a moment.

"It also surrounded Destiny Islands," Fang added.  "The Lifestream is what allowed Rufus to be immortal. The serum in the sea salt ice cream allowed the Lifestream to absorb our essence. Rufus then injected himself with a reverse-engineered version of the serum, which let him take the essence from the Lifestream for himself. Does that sound all right, Kairi? " Everyone in the group turned to look at the redhead. She thought for a moment before nodding.

"That sounds about right. When Rufus died, all of the essence he stole was released back into the Lifestream. The control towers Rufus made to harness the Lifestream were destroyed shortly after, so our essence has been slowly returning to us."

 "Yo, how do you know all this?" Asked Reno, astounded.

"I spent a year of my life trying to figure out what was going on at Destiny Islands. I was bound to learn  something . "

"So all we have to do is destroy the control towers here?" Zack asked. Auron nodded.

"The only problem is that we have no idea where they are. We've been searching for Shinra's lab in hopes of finding information on their whereabouts."

 "But now that you're all here, we can split up and search more of the area," Leon said.

 "Hold on," Cid said as he raised a hand, "you still haven't told us what happened to the other police group that was sent here." A moment of silence fell upon the campsite as the three officers exchanged glances.

"We don't know," Fang admitted.

"It's like they disappeared without a trace. There's been no communication and not even a sign that they're here," Auron added.

"All we can do is try to find Shinra's lab and hope they found it too and left some kind of note," Leon said.

Auron 

You and Auron searched the jungle in silence. Whenever you thought he wasn't looking, you would steal glances at his face. For being lost in the wild for a few days, it didn't look that bad. Sure it was a little dirty and his clothes had some more wear than usual, but you were relieved that nothing awful seemed to have happened to him while you was away.