(A/N: another KH FF!! woot! I know, in this chapter, I pick on Kairi quite a lot. I kinda feel bad now, but I was in the mood to… so I hope nobody takes offence to it)
Light and Shadow. Two things so different, yet always together. Some would say light and shadow battle each other for power, opposites, the other's weakness, yet without strengths. Others would say one cannot exist without the other, living together, only in harmony when balanced. Light and shadow reside in people, too. Those with more light wish to destroy the shadow, and those with more shadow wish to destroy the light.
Yet neither side realizes one thing; something only those with both light and shadow can understand: without one, the other can never exist. In a world of neither light nor shadow, there is nothingness. So why, some would ask, don't light and shadow live together in harmony? It is not their nature. They must fight for eternity, although, deep down, both sides realize they can never be truly happy and truly at peace unless both sides are equal. So, like the white tiger forever locked in combat with the black dragon, they will fight to their fullest without gaining any ground.
There is only one exception to the unwritten law that light and shadow must fight. That exception is a being called the chaser. Those who have a strong will and a strong mind survive against the powers of light and shadow by taking on the form of a chaser: a white skinned, black haired creature with one eye forever seeing light and one forever seeing shadow. Those beings usually take on the same characteristics as they had before their body and heart was destroyed. The soul purpose of the chaser is to wander the worlds in search of the one being that can forever calm the battle between light and shadow.
Chaser legend tells of a child who has survived both realms, who has taken the form of both body-less and heart-less, who possesses an undying light and an unyielding spirit. This child is bound to another who has fallen into the realm of the in-between and become a chaser. The chasers went in search of this unique child, but were stopped by a king. This king lived eternally in the world of light, and did not approve of the chasers' ways. So he banished all the chasers, of present and future, into a realm made neither of light nor shadow. And so the chasers remain there, until they are released, so they may search for the child. The child with the key of light.
Sora, Riku, and Kairi waded into the cool ocean water, waiting for the ship. Kairi grasped a bottle tightly in her hand, raising it high over her head so it wouldn't get wet. Inside the bottle was a rolled up piece of paper with three connected circles printed on the outside. Riku pushed off of the soft sand below him and began swimming further into the ocean. Sora took a step toward him and tried to call to him, only to get a mouth full of water as a small wave rolled past him and on to the beach. Kairi awkwardly stopped next to Sora, now treading water.
"We should go – after him," she managed to say as another miniature wave rolled over them.
Sora only nodded and swam after Riku. Once he was a little closer to his old friend, he called out, "Hey!"
But before he could say more, the words died in his throat as he watched in awe. Riku turned to face Sora, wearing an expression that hinted bragging. Slowly, Riku rose out of the water, arms crossed, same defiant expression on his face, a glint of laughter shone in his eyes. Riku's whole body was out of the water now and Sora finally saw what had been pushing him up. A huge gummiship surfaced right under Riku's feet and, once it came to a stop, the door slid open and Cid Highwind stuck his head out.
"Hey!" he called to Riku, "Show-off! Git yerself offa my ship! This thing's expensive, I dun' need yer dirty feet all over it! Off! Off!!"
Riku grimaced at Cid's shouting and jumped off the ship and back into the water.
"That's better," Cid said once Riku broke the surface, "Now git in, all 'a ya. Aerith 'ere 'll dry ya off."
Riku climbed into the ship first, then Sora then Kairi, taking up the rear. Also in the ship was Leon, Yuffie, Merlin, Tifa, and, just as Cid promised, Aerith. She stepped forward and placed a hand on Riku's forehead. He started to glow and his clothes and hair started to almost float, like he was suddenly weightless. Aerith removed her hand and Riku was dry. She did the same to Sora and Kairi then turned to Cid.
"Alrighty, kiddos," Cid said, sitting in the pilot's chair, "Take a seat an' hang on, we're high-tailin' it outta here."
Everybody rushed to their seats and got settled just in time to feel all the thrusters go on full. Kairi only had time to let out a small gasp before the wind was knocked out of her and, with a loud whoop from Cid, the gummiship blasted through the air and into space. Once they passed the boundaries into a weightless atmosphere, the pressure vanished. Everybody would have been airborne because of the backlash of the impact if Merlin hadn't waved his wand in the air, casting a wordless graviga spell and placing everybody firmly back into their seats.
Leon let a little smirk slip through his emotionless demeanor when he saw the enthusiastic grin on Sora's face; it really had been too long. Kairi was taking in huge gulps of air while trying to steady her shaking hands. Riku and Yuffie sat side by side, both nearly bursting with laughter as they watched Kairi's reaction to her first time in a gummiship. Tifa sat next to Leon, her mind clearly on other things as the stared aimlessly out at the empty atmosphere. And Merlin sat next to Yuffie, staring daggers at the back of Cid's head, who was pointedly watching the "road".
The flight only took a few minutes, considering the Destiny Islands were relatively close to the Disney Castle and the sheer speed of Cid's flying. As soon as the door opened, Kairi burst through the doorway, ahead of all the others. She ran down the platform and leaned against the cool brick wall. Sora came out next, arms folded behind his head, looking curiously at Kairi.
"Are you okay, Kairi?" Sora asked, stopping next to her. She took in a deep breath and forced a weak smile onto her face.
"Looks like somebody's got a bit of a weak stomach," Yuffie teased a friendly smile on her face.
"Good thing you never actually got on that raft, Kairi," Riku added with a small laugh, following Yuffie, "We would have been in trouble if you had gotten sick."
"Why is she even with us?" Tifa asked Leon under her breath, "She looks weaker than Aerith."
"I'm a witch," Aerith replied indignantly, "I'm allowed to look weak."
"King Mickey insisted," Leon answered, "If all else fails, I'm sure she could stay with Queen Minnie and Daisy."
"I'm sure they'll have a helluva time paintin' their nails," Cid remarked with a small laugh.
Tifa let out a small laugh, too, and then the four fell silent as they got closer to Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Yuffie. Merlin took up the rear, still angry at Cid for his recklessness.
King Mickey walked down the stairs and welcomed each of them in turn. After a small conversation, he sent each of them to different areas to look into other things. Merlin and Aerith worked with Donald, studying the new magic barriers that were put up around certain planets. Cid worked with Chip and Dale on Gummiship upgrades and how to get through the planets' new barriers. Kairi worked with Queen Minnie and Daisy on researching certain planets' histories. Leon, Yuffie, and Tifa worked with Goofy on building strong heartless defenses. Mickey took Sora and Riku into a room at the back of the castle after getting everybody else in their places. The three of them worked privately on things they wouldn't discuss with the others.