[center]11:40 PM[/center]

I've had this same recurring dream for months now, well, I guess the more accurate word would be nightmare. I've heard that there are people that can control their dreams, just so long as they recognize when they have fallen into a slumber. But I've never been able to do it, every time I sleep I know this nightmare is waiting for me, and yet I can't change it, I can't even wake myself up from it. 

The dream always starts the same, I'm running, running through a large building. The building is on fire, burning so fiercely that the sounds of cracking wood and debris falling apart nearly drown out my senses. The flames lick at my body, and even in the dream I can feel the heat. My throat is sore, my nose burns, my eyes are red and watering. My body wants to give up, to collapse on the ground right there and die. This place was my home, the academy where I was training to become a Keyblade master. I'd always thought this place was impenetrable, that no matter how powerful the Empire had become that we would be fine, I was wrong, I was wrong and a fool for believing otherwise. For the first time in my life I had felt unparalleled fear and despair. There was only one thing that had kept me going, the hand of a friend pulling me along.

I can scarcely see him in front of me, between my stinging eyes and coughing fits, running was about the only thing I could focus on. "ell... go..." I hear myself attempt to speak, begging the person risking his life to save mine to leave me and go. I was weak and tired, all I was doing was slowing him down. But he didn't hear me, between the pain in my throat and the crumbling of the academy there was no chance he could hear me. But it didn't matter, I knew that even if he had heard me he wouldn't listen, he was going to try and save me no matter what, that was just who he was.

I look back, and see something coming towards us. My vision is blurred, and yet even still I know what it is right away. A figure clad in black armor from head to toe. The armor's black finish was chilling to the eye, the flames around it wavered and died, as if it's presence was imposing on nature it's self. It was running towards us, it's movements swift and devoid of any needless motion, it was like a machine carrying out orders. My legs almost gave out, whatever that thing was, it was responsible for this disaster. It was catching up to us quickly, I knew that as long as I held back my friend he would be caught along with me. I strained my voice as hard as I could, and yelled out his name. "Capell!" He turned his head, but by then it was too late. The dream always begins to fall apart at this point, The armored thing smashes into us, all I can see is a black mass fighting with the white silhouette of Capell. He is no match for it, and the last thing I see before my consciousness fades is a cold blackness cleaving through white...

[center]_____[/center]

"Hey you two, wake up!" Ace yelled to his two sleeping friends. Shizuka stirred awake, slowly opening her eyes. Her cheeks felt moist, and she realized she had been crying in her sleep. She kept her head down, feigning drowsiness to hide her face from Ace. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve to erase the evidence, and looked to her right. Lin was asleep on her shoulder, it seemed the two of them had fallen asleep while catching up with each other, though there wasn't much to catch up on other than how crappy their days have been since the Empire had taken over. As she was surely awake now, she went ahead and stood up from the wall mounted bench, stretching her arms out and yawning. 

"That time huh?" She asked, grumbling.

"Yeah, it's that time. Come on." Ace said, turning around and leaving the maintenance room. They walked through a hall walled with bricks, and exited out onto a train tunnel. The trains here had stopped running more than a decade ago, as other forms of transportation had long since made them archaic. The three of them made their way down the old, decrepit tracks, passing old train cars and rusted equipment. They eventually made their way to the end of the line, where the carcass of a boxcar had been made into a makeshift meeting place. The red paint job on the car had long since peeled away, leaving only white plastics and rusty metal. Entering the car, they joined a small crowd of fellow Unbound Hearts. The windows had been boarded up using wood planks, and the only light source was the florescent bulbs in the car's roof. Ace stood in the front of the crowd, and Shizuka took a seat on one of the cushioned blue seats. 

Ace pulled down a white projector sheet, and turned on a computer that was nestled on a round table. Light spilled from a monitor, and the image of a large building came into focus on the projector sheet. The building was made of dark steel, and at first glance seemed to be made out of nothing for large, thick pipes that narrowed into a single spire at the center. 

"Today is the day we destroy this factory." Ace began. "The moment the Empire gained a foothold on our world, they built this monument to their conquest. They keep it's purpose away from us, though we know it is key to their goals. Each world they invade has a factory built onto it, without fail. We do not know what is inside this place, but it must be highly valuable to the Empire..." Ace paused for a moment, thinking back to their raid of the storehouse, they had missed their chance to gain more information about the factory then, knowledge of the building's layout would have greatly benefited them. 

"The building's structure is unknown to us, so we will be going in blind. Because of this, we will be split into two teams, the assault team, and the infiltration team. The assault team will attack the factory head on. Thanks to the raid yesterday, we have the best weapons available to help us in this mission. While the assault team is dealing with the factory's defenses, the infiltration team will covertly enter the building. Once the infiltration team has shut down the factory and learned of it's purpose, they will escape using a dark portal device. Any questions?"

[center]_____[/center]

Deep inside the factory, in a dank and dark room, Ryoko paced, agitated. Gavin sat chained to a wall, leaving him just enough slack to sit. The boy was lucky to still be in one piece, when Tyra-Zhen has interrupted her in the alley she nearly blew a gasket. The woman's timing was terrible, and a massive killjoy. After informing Tyra of the situation she told her to get out of her face, though knowing her she would do as she pleased regardless. It was well past midnight, and she just knew the rebels were planning something. The data on the factory going missing could not have been a coincidence. Ryoko stopped pacing, and turned back to Gavin. "Are you in the mood to talk now, Gavin?" She said, tapping her foot with impatience.