Chapter 3 is done. As always, Rant, Rave, and Review

Missing IX chapter 3: Early Discovery

Sora, Riku, and Kairi had grown into even better friends since they'd been back; they had become just as inseparable as they were before if not more so. Because of the new open pathways, all three had traveled countless times to other worlds with Sora visiting old friends, and Riku and Kairi making new ones. Because of the close proximity of their worlds, the three of them had especially frequented Radiant Garden and Twilight Town. Riku had become good friends with Leon, and started a rivalry with Seifer; meanwhile, Kairi had become good friends with Yuffie, Aerith, and the Gullwings. In short, everything was great. Strength wise, Sora and Riku were as sharp as ever. Sora maintained his great strength, and Riku had gained supreme control over darkness without any signs of 'Ansem' (Xehanort's heartless).

As for Kairi, she probably had grown the most of all of them. Hoping not to become a burden, she asked Donald to teach her magic, and, to no one's surprise but her own, proved she had a real knack for it. Over a relatively short amount of time, thanks to training from Merlin and several lessons from Yen Sid, Kairi mastered all the magic spells including several ones that Sora and Donald didn't know. As gifts, Donald gave her a special rod with a red, crystal magic orb at its tip, and Queen Minnie had a ring similar to her own forged especially for Kairi to enhance Kairi's magic power. Kairi treasured these gifts as symbols of her hard work, and began to carry the red crystal rod and wear the ring everywhere with her.

In spite of this, the three didn't really have to use their new strength; the heartless, for the most part, had disappeared, and, perhaps consequently, the Nobodies were gone as well. The realm of light was in utter peace... until this day. The three had rushed to Disney Castle after getting a frantic, urgent summon from Queen Minnie. There was trouble, big trouble.

As they were getting off the Gummi Ship, Sora, Riku, and Kairi felt something was wrong; Riku could even smell the darkness around.

"Do you two feel that," asked Riku, feeling the darkness on the outside, waiting.

Sora and Kairi simultaneously said, "Yeah," and then Sora inquired, "But how did they get here?"

Riku and Kairi grew confused by what Sora said, prompting Kairi to ask, "What do you mean, Sora?"

Realizing that they may not know, Sora explained, "There's a special light source here called the Cornerstone of Light that keeps Heartless out of the castle. There shouldn't be any heartless here, but it feels like more than just a few are here. Let's go. We have to hurry before the castle gets worse."

Sora, Riku, and Kairi quickly exited the Gummi Ship Hangar only to run into a full heartless invasion. Not only Shadows and Soldiers but Neoshadows and Large Bodies had appeared at the castle, and in large numbers. For the first time in awhile, the three had to fight, but Sora and Riku hadn't skipped a beat and Kairi's training really showed.

Riku easily dispatched of several soldiers before turning and charging for two large bodies. Seeing him coming, both Large Bodies jumped and stomped the ground, causing a large shockwave.

Riku jumped over the shockwave with ease as he said, "Is that all you got,' and, in mid-air, hit them both with a Dark Fireball, defeating them and releasing the hearts held captive within them.

Kairi saw the shadows and neoshadows crawling underneath the ground and coming for her from all directions.

"Come on. Just a little closer," she said almost inaudibly, waiting for just the right moment.

Then, just as the heartless got in range, Kairi spun her rod, pointed the tip to the ground, and forcefully said, "Quake!"

With that Earth spell, Kairi caused a massive upheaval of rock all around her, destroying the shadows and neoshadows and releasing the hearts held captive within them.

Sora, just as he'd always done, skillfully swung his keyblade, defeating heartless with each swing, and ended with a well-timed 'Explosion' attack just as more heartless were closing in.

"Sora, where would Queen Minnie be," asked Kairi, hoping they would leave before more heartless arrived.

Sora responded saying, "In the Hall of the Cornerstone. I know where it is; let's go!"

With that, Sora sprinted off with Riku and Kairi right behind him.

They made their way to the Audience Chamber, quickly defeating any heartless on the way, and came to the entrance to the Hall of the Cornerstone, which was still open. The three rushed down the steps, and found Chip, Dale, Daisy, and Queen Minnie, who were safe thanks to the Cornerstone's Light. Queen Minnie told them that The King had come back from a trip, but had left shortly thereafter with Donald and Goofy. He also left a package for Sora, Riku, and Kairi, and asked her to give it to them when they arrived. But, just as Queen Minnie was about to give them the package, the whole castle seemed to shake from something.

Riku then said, "That felt really close. We'd better take care of whatever it is."

Kairi nodded her head in agreement, and Sora said, "Yeah; Your Majesty, you and everyone else should stay here; we'll take care of whatever it is."

Queen Minnie and the others nodded in agreement, and, with that, Sora, Riku, and Kairi rushed up the stairs to the Audience Chamber.

Immediately, they could feel the floor shaking from something huge approaching, quickly closed the entrance to the Cornerstone of Light. As the sounds got louder, Sora and Riku summoned their Keyblades, and Kairi firmly grasped her wand, all three preparing for a fight. Then, the pounding stopped, and the large doors cracked slightly with the sound of something like a low growl. After a moment, the doors shut again, and an eerie silence crept over the large room. Suddenly, the doors flung open violently as a very large heartless barreled in that, upon seeing them, let out a mighty ROAR! Standing before Riku, Kairi, and Sora was the Feral Claw, a large cat- like heartless that had two long tails and was about the size of Cerberus.

Just as the battle was beginning, Trixis arrived at the castle, emerging from her 'independent shadow'. 'Independent Shadows' were transportation created by Xima that allowed them to travel to different worlds through the 'Light' corridors 

without being seen, but they could only travel for certain amounts of time every 30 minutes. Trixis had come to see if the Light Heroes had arrived, and, when she heard the battle going on, eagerly perched herself on a nearby window to get a better look, and, partly, to see Sora, Kairi, and Riku in action.

Meanwhile, the battle was intense between the Light heroes and the Feral Claw. Sora and Riku were initially taken aback because most heartless this size were slow and sluggish; The Feral Claw, however, was quick, agile, and very adept at dodging, an incredible ability for a monster its size. In addition to its powerful charges and furious slashes, after getting hit repeatedly, the Feral Claw would start to rampage, leaping around the room, running on the walls, charging and slashing at them as it went by before slumping down briefly with fatigue. Finally, after minutes of furious fighting, the Feral Claw seemed to severely weakened, but the Light Heroes were tired as well. Then, in almost a desperate rage, the Feral Claw made a furious charge at them. Sora and Riku quickly jumped out of the way, but, to their surprise, Kairi began to run towards it.

"Kairi, no," they yelled simultaneously as it seemed that she and the heartless would collide.

Then, just at the right moment, Kairi jumped toward the Feral Claw, pointed her staff to the ground between them, and forcefully said, "Deep Freeze!" covering the ground with ice.

Just as she planned, the Feral Claw slipped, slammed hard into the ground, and began to slide across the floor, allowing her to step onto its head and catapult herself into the air. As the Feral Claw continued to slide, Kairi began to turn back toward it in mid-air while forming a large ball of light similar to the King and Queen's 'Pearl' attack in her free hand.

Then, as the Feral Claw crashed into the wall, Kairi powerfully said, "Light!", and shot the ball at the Heartless, hitting it right in its side.

The giant heartless let out a last feeble roar as it faded away, releasing the heart held captive within it, as Kairi landed safely.

"Kairi, that was amazing," yelled Sora as he and Riku ran to her, and Riku added, "Yeah. Who taught you that?"

Kairi turned to them with a smile on her face, and replied, "You two taught me. I've seen you both do it hundreds of times."

Just as she said that, Queen Minnie and the others exited the Hall of the Cornerstone and the Queen immediately expressed her gratitude and handed them the King's package for them; it contained a single cell phone and a letter from Radiant Garden that read:

Dear Sora, Riku, and Kairi,
First of all, we're happy to tell you that Cloud has finally returned safely, and intends to stay. Tifa is with him as well, and she wants to stay too, to 'keep Cloud in check', whatever that means. Anyway, we're contacting you to give you something to help you on your next journey. The king has already come to us and gone, saying that there's something wrong with the worlds, and that he, Donald, and Goofy are looking into it. In the meantime, he requested that you three try to keep the heartless at bay, at least until the root of all this can be found. We wanted to do our part to help, so we have something for you. The phone you have is from Tifa and Cloud; Cid has modified it to pick up calls between worlds. It should help you keep up with the heartless outbreaks in other worlds. We will try to keep things quiet here, but we'll call you if anything comes up. Good luck and we're rooting for you.

Signed,
Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, Merlin, Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Cloud, and Tifa

Midway through the letter, Riku began to pick up a familiar scent, one that he hadn't smelled in a long time.

"Riku," Kairi called, noticing that Riku not paying attention, and Sora, now finished reading and noticing the same thing, added, "Riku, what are you..."

Riku, still concentrating on the 'scent' quickly held up his hand, signaling them to keep quiet, and said with almost a whisper, "Hold on. Stay still."

Trixis, who was enraptured by the Light Heroes fight, could only stand in awe on the high windowsill as they went through their package, but she noticed that the three of them looked nervous for a moment about something. Suddenly, Riku turned and shot a Dark Fireball at the window Trixis was standing in. Fortunately for her, Trixis moved in time to dodge the attack, but the force of the impact still knocked her off the ledge. Thinking quickly, Trixis extended vines from inside her sleeve, wrapping them around a nearby pillar, which slowed her descent enough for her to land safely. Realizing that she'd been spotted and knowing that her independent shadow wasn't ready Trixis began running, trying to get away.

"Come on," said Riku, as he began sprinting out of the Audience Chamber with Sora and Kairi right behind him.

As they continued to give chase, Kairi finally asked, "What are we chasing," and Sora added, "Yeah, Riku. What did you see?"

Without turning around, Riku said, "It's not really what I saw, but what I 'smelled'. I recognize it from Castle Oblivion."

Sora and Kairi looked at each other, lost to what it could be, and Kairi asked, "Really? What is it?"

Riku simply shook his head and replied, "Let's just hope it's not what I think it is."

Trixis ran into and through the castle gardens, weaving through the large collection of huge hedge sculptures and repeatedly tapping the symbol on her 'lifeline' until she crossed a large clearing with a very large wall at the end. The wall was extremely smooth with no plants on it to climb; it was a dead-end. Just as Trixis realized how trapped she was and while she tried to catch her breath, Sora , Riku, and Kairi arrived as if on cue, causing Trixis to slowly turn to face them.

Immediately after seeing the familiar black coat and face hidden in the hood, all three stopped running, and simultaneously said with a combination of shock, dread, and confusion, "The Organization?!"

Hoping to clear up any confusion and half-hoping but not really expecting that it would stop them from attacking her, Trixis quickly replied, "Wait, wait, wait before you assume anything. Sure, I am a Nobody, but I assure that I am not of Organization XIII."

Although Kairi slightly thought she sounded sincere, Riku and Sora didn't buy it.

Riku first sarcastically replied, "Right," and then said, "Sora, the King said something was off, and you were wondering how heartless got here. I think we just found the reason for both."



Trixis, realizing that the situation was getting out of hand, pressed her back to the wall as she said, "Hey, I didn't bring that monster here. I don't even know how to summon heartless."

Sora and Riku grew more distrusting with this statement and more impatient, which lead Sora to say, "Yeah, right. Enough lies. What are you planning, Nobody?"

Trixis almost snapped back at Sora's speech toward her, saying, "First off, I have a name," but quickly seemed to grow reluctant, hesitant, and almost nervous as she said, "Second, I can't tell you our plans just yet, but, judging from how you talk, you probably wouldn't believe me anyway."

Sora, Riku, and Kairi looked at each other as they were confused by what she said. Not sure whether it was fact or fiction, Riku and Sora summoned their keyblades and got in fighting position shortly followed by Kairi, who still couldn't figure out this new Nobody or how she herself felt about her.

After the three of them were ready to fight, Sora threatened Trixis saying, "Well, whatever you're planning, I guess we'll just have to make you tell us what it is."

Trixis, realizing that she might die, nervously grabbed her locket with one hand, and said in almost a fearful tone, "Ho...Hold on. I don't want to fight you. I mean no harm. I'm begging you. Please, don't do this."

With her posture, manner, and highly anxious voice, Trixis truly seemed afraid, and Kairi definitely thought it couldn't all be an act.

Sora then said in almost a whisper, "Riku, are you ready," which Riku responded to with a quick whisper, "Yeah."

Realizing what they were about to do, Kairi urged them saying, "Wait a minute, guys. All of that can't be an act; she really seems scared."

Riku, trying to reassure her, replied in almost a whisper, "Don't believe her, Kairi. It's all a trick," and Sora added, "Yeah. She's a Nobody; she can't feel anything."

Sora and Riku quickly began to charge at Trixis, who seemed to brace herself against the wall.

"No! Please don't," said Trixis in a feeble tone as she began to clutch her locket with both hands.



As they got closer, Trixis dropped her head, and said in a whisper almost as if calling out, "Kar."

Suddenly, Riku stopped, and called out, "Sora, wait," but Sora kept running.

At a certain point, Sora jumped high in the air, readying to rain down blows, and Trixis looked away, bracing her for what was coming. Then, CLANG! In a moment so quick that Sora didn't even see it, a second Nobody, Xima, arrived just in time, and deflected Sora's attack, sending Sora floating in mid-air defenselessly. Then, in a moment just as quick as the last one, Xima quickly spun, and kicked Sora backward next to Riku before Sora even seemed to get closer to the ground. As Riku and Kairi ran over to Sora to help him up, seven more Nobodies appeared out of seemingly out of nowhere, and one, Karadex, quickly turned his attention to the first, Trixis; he immediately embraced her around her shoulders as she seemed to relax in relief. Sora, Riku, and Kairi never thought they'd see another hooded Nobody again; let alone a group of this many, so, even though they were outnumbered, they firmly grasped their weapons, ready to fight.

Seeing the heroes' anticipation, Xima, hoping to somehow salvage the situation, quickly said in a mellow tone, "Have no fear; you can stand down. Just like our friend said, we have no intention of fighting you."

Riku, still cynical towards them, replied, "Of course not; you need us to do your dirty work," and Sora, who was just as cynical, added, "What are you all planning? Are you still trying to control Kingdom Hearts?"

The nine looked at each other while they shrugged their shoulders, all of them seemingly confused by Sora's question.

Xima finally replied, "Uh...no. But be patient. We can't tell you what we're doing. At least, not yet."

Sora and Riku only grew more impatient with Sora saying sarcastically, "Oh, really," but Kairi, not convinced as Sora and Riku about these' Nobodies' malice, asked, "You say you mean us no harm, but, if we're supposed to trust you, why are you hiding so much? Why won't you tell us anything?"

Xima responded quicker than expected saying, "Judging from the amount of heartless here, she is probably watching, listening. But we assure you; we are not your enemy. Just keep fighting the heartless; the Fate of the Worlds (and us) depend on it"

Just as she finished that sentence, a large shadow appeared on the wall behind them, and, one by one, each of them backed 'into' the shadow, disappearing as they 'entered' it. Once all of them were 'inside', the shadow swirled in place on the wall and gradually shrunk until it was gone. Sora, Riku, and Kairi stood completely still for a moment, not sure what just happened, and eventually went back to a relaxed position although all three of them still looked at the wall.

Finally, Riku broke the silence by asking, "Did you guys believe any of that," which Sora quickly responded, saying, "Not a word."

Riku was silent for a moment, but quickly responded, "Me neither."

Kairi wasn't as sure as Riku and Sora, which they both could tell by the look on her face.

Noticing them looking at her, Kairi finally responded, "I don't know, guys. I know they're Nobodies, but...they seem different. At least, they sounded like they were telling the truth."

Sora responded saying, "Kairi, the Organization sounded the same way, but we know how that turned out. No, those nobodies are who we have to fight."

Sora turned around as he said, "Let's go; we have to start looking for their stronghold."

With that, Sora and Riku began heading for the Gummi Ship Hangar, but Kairi couldn't get herself to move. No matter what she did, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was off about these Nobodies or about the whole situation for that matter. Eventually, after Sora and Riku called her, Kairi put the thought in the back of her mind, and joined them.

A/M: Chapter 3 is done. Hope it wasn't too long. The search of the Missing IX is now on. Hope you enjoyed it and will stay with me. Please R&R.