A Collection of Hearts #1: Heart of the Forest

I was recently looking through a book of idioms and was surprised how many references to the heart there are in English. I wondered how some of them might apply to Kingdom Hearts and before I knew it, I was writing a series.

One thing that bothered me was how little we got to know certain characters from Castle Oblivion before they died. It doesn't seem quite fair to me, and so I thought it might be interesting to see what would have happened had they survived, so just pretend that they lived.

Yes, I know that KH 358/2 Days will probably make all my assumptions moot, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.

Chapter 1: Keychain

Stone trees towered high above the earth, every leave and vine frozen as if a gorgon had passed through with a naked face. Creatures resembling flowers, though with bodies that bore legs and sharp thorns, lay spread out among the paths. They too were motionless. Every living thing in sight was dead.

At the edge of the forest a figure appeared. Shifting blackness allowed him passage and then vanished the moment he had fully entered the domain. Deep within his cowl he gazed at the surroundings, specifically the stoned monsters. With a sneering laugh he waved a hand, summoning Nobodies into the unsuspecting world.

"My calculations were correct. These things have no hearts, but they still have bodies. They can't be repossessed, but I suspect that such shells can be controlled by other shells."

He touched the closest Nobody and the symbol on its forehead warped slightly. A moment later it slitheringly approached one of the plant-spiders and melded with it. A crack echoed through the forest and gray stone slowly took on life. Less than a minute later it was a green creature with a red flower as its disturbingly eyeless head. A squeaking screech issued from it and the member of Organization Thirteen smiled unpleasantly as he reached toward another of his lackeys.

"Xemnas may just want me to do some experimenting, but he didn't say I couldn't enjoy myself while I was at it." His eyes turned northward. "What a strange aura. How intriguing…"

Another swirling oval of darkness appeared and a large man entered the realm. He was tall with brown hair, a square chin and a mildly disinterested expression.

"What are you doing here, Lexaeus? The Superior told me this was my world."

"He insisted I keep an eye on you. Your unpredictability makes him suspicious of you."

The scientist growled, but reluctantly gestured to the creature in front of them. "An experiment in control. Imperfect, but usable. Would you like to test them?"

"Perhaps."

%*%

A short time later, a flying ship unlike any that had ever been seen in that particular world descended through the atmosphere. It landed in a lake at the base of a mountain overshadowing the forest.

Moments afterward, darkness formed out of thin air and a new figure entered the wood. The trees were dense enough that Riku didn't reach for his blindfold. He wanted to see the strange place as it was. He curiously touched a tree and was surprised to see it was made of stone. Was this some sort of petrified forest?

King Mickey had told him there might be a link to this world, and just by standing there he could tell the mouse was right. He detected two stenches from Organization Thirteen.

Riku paused, divided. The king could probably deal with this himself. Sora was still in stasis at Castle Oblivion and needed protection. What was he doing here? Why had he been sent? Didn't anyone understand that he—?

There was a rustle behind him and he spun about with Way to the Dawn appearing in a flash. He caught sight of the bright yellow and pink clothing of someone pretending they were not there. A girl peeked out briefly from the shelter of a stone bush and he relaxed. Just one of the natives, and a young one at that.

"Come on out. I won't bother you."

Hesitantly she stepped into full view, a rod of some sort in her hand, and Riku blinked in surprise. There was a horn in the middle of her forehead. But if this was not an uncommon trait, then it might be rude to stare. The short girl approached with eyes wider and more curious than Riku had seen in a long time. Not since Destiny Islands when…

"What are you doing here?" he asked, shaking off the memories.

"Looking for…" The child clasped her hands behind her back and rocked back and forth on her feet as though arguing inside. A second later she seemed to decide he was worth trusting and continued, "It's an eidolon. I'm a summoner and I was passing by when I heard one calling out. Sometimes it'll speak but sometimes it won't, so it's hard to pinpoint exactly where it's coming from."

He assumed an eidolon was a type of summon since she was a summoner, but knew if the Organization Thirteen members caught her they wouldn't hold back just because she was a child.

"Get out of here, kid. This is no place for you."

"Hey, you don't talk to a lady like that! You introduce yourself and ask what her name is. Got that, buddy?"

He lifted an eyebrow skeptically. "Look, there's someone here with an army of Nobodies at his back. He'll be making trouble before long, so I'd suggest you take your little toy weapon and leave."

The girl seemed to be changing colors now. Her eyes grew bigger and her face got redder, even as the expression twisted into some mixture of surprise and anger. Or maybe it was fury and anger.

"How dare you speak to a heroine of Gaia that way! I'll show you."

Oh, just perfect. The little kid now had to prove she could take care of herself and Riku would have to rescue her when she did something stupid. He should have seen this coming, but for some reason it hadn't occurred to him beforehand that nettling the child would have this drastic of an effect. There was only one thing for it.

He picked her up and slung her tiny body over his shoulder as he walked away from the forest. She kicked and screamed, but was obviously no match for him. And yet Riku had to admit she had heart.

Very soon he realized how right he was.

In his other hand he'd been carrying the Keyblade and as she squirmed about, the girl snatched at it, trying to pull his weapon away. Naturally he yanked it back and her hand slipped down to the keychain. She refused to let go and gave an extra-hard pull. The keychain broke and Riku at first didn't realize what had happened. Then he saw that his Way to the Dawn had turned back into Soul Eater and the missing piece was in the child's hand. He instantly stopped and set her down so that he could retrieve it.

But he overlooked the amazingly instinctive talent of ornery children to play Keep-Away.

The girl danced out of reach and no matter how quickly his hands darted, hers were too slippery. It didn't take long for him to realize how much of a fool he was beginning to look. And that she was rather enjoying it.

"All right," he conceded at last. "My name is Riku. I've come here to help your world before it gets overrun by Heartless and Nobodies. I'm trying to protect this place and you're in my way. Now tell me who you are."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously and turned her back on him, revealing a decorative pair of white wings. "Eiko Carol, last summoner of Madain Sari and heir-apparent to the regency of Lindblum. And I didn't catch even the barest hint of an apology."

Before he could tell her exactly what he thought of her (and especially what he considered an undeserved apology), they were interrupted.

From the branches a high-pitched screech echoed. Riku barely had time to raise his Keyblade when a creature pounced on him from above! He deflected it to the side where the spindly monster hissed and pranced in an agitated way. Its blossoming head was the color of blood, but just below that on what would be considered its chest Riku recognized a mark.

As it came at him again, he twisted around and sliced with Soul Eater at an angle. One sharp foreleg lashed out as it died, catching him in the sword arm. He grunted and backed away, feeling warmth trickle down from the wound. It burned and his fingers were going numb.

Meanwhile, the girl was trapped beneath another monster. Riku called out and tried to run forward to protect her, but they were too far away. It raised one foreleg to stab her and she raised her rod up to defend herself, grasping it with both hands and forgetting that she was already holding something.

The keychain met the weapon and merged with a flash. It startled the creature and she managed to roll out from underneath it. Somehow the rod had changed.

Riku watched, awestruck, as she hurled the warped weapon at the monster. Way to the Dawn left her hand, spinning end over end through the air. It struck the enemy, slicing it in half. Then the Keyblade vanished…reappearing in the girl's hand.

Her surprise mirrored his own, but at least he knew what had just happened. She dropped it and gave a startled cry.

Riku approached slowly and picked up the fallen blade. When he tried to take back the keychain it refused to come loose.

As you can see, this is based in the Final Fantasy 9 realm. For those of you familiar with it, I'd like to know which character you liked the most. I personally liked Eiko (no duh!) b/c she seemed to have the most potential out of everyone, plus she's brashly honest like me. Besides, she has a horn! How cool is that?