"Why'd you have to go and knock him out, Squall?" Yuffie screeched angrily, fluttering over the unconscious spiky haired boy.
"There were too many Heartless around," Leon explained coolly. "He'd want to ask questions, and we didn't have time for that."
She merely made a noise and continued her fussing. When she moved to the opposite side of the bed, I peered over from my spot by the door and finally took a good look at this guy that was so vitally important. He didn't look much older, might even be a year younger from the look at his chubby cheeks and smaller stature. Other than his crazily spiked chestnut hair, he looked normal. I was a little upset by this. How was he supposed to be the savior of the worlds?
I crossed my arms and huffed, glaring haughtily at the window.
A few minutes later, and the boy finally began to stir. Yuffie leaned excitedly over him as his brows furrowed. Slowly, his eyes opened a crack and he asked blearily, "Kairi…?"
"Who's Kairi? I'm Yuffie!" she said, startling the boy into a sitting position. She nodded over her shoulder to Leon and said, "I think you might've overdone it!"
The boy rubbed his neck as he glanced around the room unsurely. When he got to me, our eyes met, and I felt the blue orbs pierce straight through. My stomach clenched uncomfortably, something seeming to pass from the beginning to the end of me. Like electricity.
"Sorry, but that Keyblade of yours is what the Heartless are looking for." Leon explained, drawing the boy's attention away from me. "I had to conceal your heart's power so they wouldn't find you."
When his eyes traveled away, I let out the breath I didn't know I'd been holding. What just happened?
"Wait, this isn't making any sense! What's going on?" the boy started, growing increasingly worried. However, a large bang from the direction of the alley rang out.
"Damn, they found us already!" Leon muttered.
Yuffie was to the door in a second, ushering me through and calling back, "Leon, we gotta go!"
We ran as fast as we could through the halls and out into the Second District. Once in the open, Leon said hurriedly, "Faitouru, you take him and head for the safe house, Yuffie and I'll distract them!"
I was about to argue, but the look in his eyes clearly said this was non-negotiable. Drawing my lips into a thin line, I nodded and spun, rushing past the gawking boy, and muttering a quick, "Follow me."
In a minute, I noticed that Leon's distraction seemed to be working. The enemies were thinning. Around the next corner and we'd have made it into the courtyard where the door to the safe house was. The boy, to my displeasure, took the momentary solitude as an opportunity to jog up next to me and grin stupidly. I merely glared, careful to avoid eye contact, and stayed silent.
"So you live with those two back-" he began, but was suddenly cut off as two beings landed on him unceremoniously. I jumped back, calling out my Keyblade in anticipation of an ambush. But something about these two told me that that wasn't going to happen. They looked as diabolical as a Moogle. I crossed my arms and waited impatiently for them to right themselves. That's when the oversized Duck cried out, brandishing a finger at the boy's Keyblade, "The Key! Goofy, we found him!"
"Gawrsh, Donald, you're right!"
How did they know about the Keyblade? Suspicion roared up in me, and I was about to ask who exactly they were, when something giant came crashing to the ground in front of us. While the dust cleared, I heard the grinding of metal clanking together over the coughs and spluttering. I saw it first, a Heartless the size of a two story building, stood before us.
"Look out!" I called, my Keyblade once again flashing to my hands. The others stood gazing dumbstruck up at the giant. In a flash, I dodged a metal fist and looked back to see the floppy eared one called Goofy shielding the boy from a blow to the side. We fought together after that. I was surprised to see that they could all hold their own against the enemy. And in no time, we managed to win.
After the Heartless had disappeared, I could tell they wanted to make introductions, but that would be stupid out in the open like this; especially after a boss battle like that. I said, quickly striding in the direction of the Third District's courtyard, "C'mon, Leon'll be waiting…"
"He's pretty good!" Yuffie said, awe in her voice after I'd gotten through explaining to her and Leon what had happened. I rolled my eyes and caught sight of said idiot getting the lesson on the Heartless from Merlin. I still couldn't see why he was so special.
Both of them exchanged looks before walking over to the boy and the others. Yuffie said happily, extending her hand towards him, "We didn't really get the chance to introduce ourselves before. I'm Yuffie!"
She pointed to Leon over her shoulder and said, "This is Squall Leonheart, but he prefers Leon."
Next her finger was directed at me, "And this kid is Faitouru."
I grimaced and refused to acknowledge him, much to everyone's discomfort.
The boy merely shook his head and took Yuffie's hand before saying happily, "I'm Sora!"
"Donald Duck and Goofy at your service, Ahyuck!"
Everyone smiled for a moment before the boy asked, "So…you guys have been looking for me, huh?"
"Our King told these people about you when they came to this different world, they've been helping us look." Donald cut in matter-of-factly.
"Oh…and, why exactly am I so important?" Sora asked, scratching his neck embarrassedly.
"Because you are the wielder of the Keyblade," Leon answered easily.
"But…he has one too, though. How do you know I'm the right guy?"
"You have a power that only the Keyblade Master can emit. You are unique." Merlin gushed, making me roll my eyes.
Yuffie nodded enthusiastically and continued, "You are the Keyblade Master, and he's The Protector! A perfect team!"
Sora ran a hand through his hair in thought, glancing over in my direction once again, before asking, "Team?"
"Well, sure!" she chided. "When you two first met, you felt the connection, right? His power is directly linked to your heart!"
My eyes flashed, remembering our first encounter back at the hotel. It had felt like a lightning bolt had reached in and set my whole being on fire. Sora also seemed to recognize that what Yuffie was talking about was what happened.
"How do you know so much about this?" he asked, hurriedly avoiding the topic as our eyes met briefly. Strange the feeling didn't happen again.
"King Mickey told us about who will need to save the worlds. He asked us to keep a lookout for him and the Protector." Leon answered, nodding in my and Sora's directions.
This still didn't feel real to me, I realized as the conversation kept on. And the worst part of this nightmarish dream-like reality was that I wasn't in control over it. My whole existence was being planned, had been…and I wasn't ready.
"I need air…" I muttered suddenly, pushing past the others out of the cramped sitting room and into the alley way.
The air was cool and felt good against my burning skin. I sucked in as much as my lungs could hold and sighed heavily. A light in the building across the courtyard caught my eye, and I began to stroll lazily towards it, letting my mind wander.
I don't know how long I was out there for, but it didn't seem like long enough before that boy's voice carried through the still air, "Faitouru…right?"
I turned and fixed him with a stern gaze. He chewed on his lower lip before saying tentatively, "U-um, well…Leon told me to come get you. He said you needed to say goodbye to Yuffie before we left."
I was extremely tempted to tell him that I'd rather let the Heartless take my heart than go with him anywhere, but I managed to hold my tongue. For a brief moment, we stood facing each other in silence. His head tilted to the side slightly before he asked, "Hey…are you sure we haven't met before…?"
Anger rushed through me, but I bit back the insult I wished to hurl at him and instead brushed past him into the safe house. His body language told me that he wanted to say more. I was glad he didn't.
Part of me really was going to miss Yuffie and her over-kill of a personality, so I felt the pang of sadness run through me as she ran up and flung her arms around my neck. Aerith I would also miss. She became my sort of surrogate mother, even though I'd rather not admit it. But it was Leon, I think, that would be the one person I would think of most often on the journey ahead.
I saved his farewell for last, waiting until the others were occupied to approach him. I strode over to him and glared at the rug under my feet. The words I knew I should say did not come to me, so I merely stood stock still.
"Take care of him, okay kid…?"
My shoulders tensed as his words hit me. Why did he want to talk about that…idiot while I was trying my hardest to say goodbye?
His hand fell heavily on my shoulder as he leaned down and said, "When you come back, I want to see that he's alright…"
When you come back…? Was this his way of saying goodbye? Was he as bad at this as me? Slowly, I lifted my chin and met his dark eyes with my amethyst ones. There; I could see in his gaze all of what he wished to convey. He would miss me too…
Almost without thinking, I felt the corners of my mouth twitch up in a smile, but only for an instant before I was back to business. Seriously, I muttered, "I won't let anything happen to him…"
"Good." Leon smiled, patting me slightly before standing straight once again. "You better go see Cid, now."
I nodded, hesitated slightly, then turned on my heel and followed after Sora and the others to the door that would take us to the third district. With one final wave, we were out the door. It was quiet out, like usual, but the air felt charged somehow. I'm pretty sure it was only me that was thinking that, but still…I was going to visit other worlds. Finally, I was getting what I had been dreaming about.
"So, Faitouru, where did you come from?" Sora asked after falling in step next to me.
I glanced over at him, annoyance running through me, but didn't break stride. Mumbling, while trying to pick up my pace, "Nowhere anymore…"
"What's it called?" he asked brightly, keeping right with me.
Those ridiculously large eyes set in that stupid baby face of his was too much to resist. I ended up replying curtly, "Junction."
Cid's shop would be in sight soon. I realized with relief.
"What's it like?"
If he was going to be this inquisitive for the entire time, I think I might actually kill him. My fists and jaw clenched as my anger flared dangerously. Thankfully, he grinned stupidly and threw his arms behind his head and said, cutting me off, "Sorry, Kairi always told me it was good to talk when meeting someone new!"
I didn't have enough time to glare at him. We had come upon Cid's shop door and he was disappearing inside still smiling happily. With as much self control as I could muster, I swallowed my irritation and followed.
The distinct mixture between a dozen different smells assaulted my nostrils as I strode in behind the Keyblade-Moron. It sort of equaled to what my living room smelt like, plus burning wood, and oil. My nose wrinkled slightly as Sora called out cheerily, "Hey, old man, Leon said you've got something for us!"
"I aint old ya brat!" Cid hollered back his drawl thick, brandishing a greased up metal gear in his direction. "Yeah, I got sumthin' fer ya…ungrateful little…"
We filed in and waited while he dug around under the counter. A moment later, he came around, arms full of tiny little muti-colored things. I had expected something a little more muted in color, but whatever. Cid stopped in front of Sora and dumped the contents unceremoniously onto him, who staggered slightly, struggling to keep a hold on all of them.
"Hey!" he cried indignantly. Cid merely ignored him and looked down at me pointedly explaining how they worked.
"But if you don't wanna do it yerselves, then come back here an I'll do it fer ya."
By now, Sora had stored the Gummi Blocks safely and said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Thanks Gramps!"
"Why you little-!" Cid growled, snatching at him. But Sora merely danced out of reach and was now disappearing out through the door, Donald and Goofy following after. I merely rolled my eyes and started after as well.
"Watch yer back out there." Cid offered as I stepped out into the dimly lit street.
I paused and turned, catching his eye. The straw dangling from his lips bobbed slightly as he made a face that I assumed was supposed to be friendly, but ended up looking a little strange on his scraggly features. Turning away, I waved once over my shoulder, and let the door close behind me decisively.
And so, we left. I was surprised by how small the ship was on the inside; just enough room for two small bedrooms and the cockpit. I held my arms out, finding that my palms pressed against the walls of the bedroom easily. Sighing, I chose bottom bunk. I tended to roll around when I slept, and as a rule, never fell asleep in anything higher than my knees.
Sora and Donald fought over the other bottom bunk. I was lobbying for Donald to lose, that way, the lesser of two evils would room with me. He would just ignore me, whereas Sora would pester me so much so that I couldn't sleep. However, I was sad to find that Donald won the arguing match, effectively kicking Sora into my room.
"Any chance you'd wanna switch to top bunk?" he asked sheepishly. I merely closed my eyes and turned to face the wall. And, like I predicted, he didn't stop badgering me until we arrived at our first destination.
Floating lazily down through a cavern, I let my pulsing headache calm. Instead of dwelling on how deeply my distaste for Sora ran, I focused on the task at hand. Finding out where we were, and eliminating the Heartless threat. Glancing around, I saw the roots weaving in and out of the wallpaper, and holding up strange looking pictures in lopsided frames. Far below, I noticed a black and white checkered floor growing closer as time passed.
After a few minutes, I landed softly on my feet next to Sora who was already looking around with excited curiosity.
"It looks so weird!" he cried, pointing at the distorted floor, and oddly dimensioned walls and doorways. He was right about that. It was like I stepped into a watercolor that had just gotten a Technicolor drink spilled on it.
"I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!" A flash of white cried as it scampered by my feet. My eyes focused on a white rabbit, carrying a comically large stopwatch, and wearing a multi-colored lapel, sprint nervously around the corner.
Another flash rushed past me as Sora darted after him crying, "Wait!"
He turned back to me and the others and motioned for us to follow. Goofy and Donald shared a smile before chasing after. Sighing, I also followed. And when I came around the corner, I stopped abruptly. Sora and the others were peering on their hands and knees at a small door.
"Maybe we can squeeze through…?" Sora muttered, clearly thinking out loud before gripping the knob and turning it forcefully.
Not only did it open, but from out of the wall, an accordion of other doors also opened, each growing in size. Sora, unfortunately, wasn't prepared for the extra doors and was smacked square in the face as they swung forward. I could not laugh fast enough. Sora rolled around, clutching his nose, but immediately cried out nasally, "It's not funny!"
The others helped him up and began fussing. Shaking my head amusedly, I walked past them into the room beyond the multi-door. All I could think was that this place was weird. Sora asked from behind, not sounding like he was pinching his nose anymore, "Do you see him?"
Scanning from left to right, it seemed to me like the room was completely empty. I was about to tell him no, however, when I saw a flash of white by small door with an oversized knob. I pointed, dashing in the rabbit's direction, "There!"
By the time I scooted around the table to where I'd last seen him, he was already gone. I stood, peering at the door, waiting for the others to catch up. Donald asked as they halted next to me, "How do we get through?"
That's what I'd just been asking myself. Could the door even be opened? The door seemed to be much too small for any of us. I was about to suggest we search the room for other entrances, when Sora strode right up to the little door, crouched, and twisted the knob with all his might. I think he thought it might be like the other door, opening up many doors that grew in size. What happened next was so unexpected, that I jumped in surprise. A voice cried out in pain. Sora immediately let go and stumbled back into me. Donald and Goofy also stepped back, knocking into the little bed, which promptly disappeared into the wall leaving them flat on their backs. Sora clutched at me, looking down at the doorknob that was talking, with horror.
It blathered on about how rude we were, and how no one treated him fairly in this place called Wonderland. Sora seemed to get over the initial shock, and was now fascinated by the little door and what he was saying. I just rolled my eyes, slightly tempted to threaten the door with a good kick if it didn't tell us where the rabbit went.
"You cannot get through being your size!" the knob trilled regally, finally answering Sora's repeated questions. Sora deflated.
"But if you drink from the vial on the table, you will become the correct size."
I looked around and spotted the vial filled with blue liquid that read: Drink me. My brows furrowed suspiciously. But of course before I could voice my opinion, Sora snatched up the little drink, grinned, and took a small sip. The transformation was instantaneous. One moment, Sora was there, the next he wasn't. A fire roared inside me as I rounded on the doorknob and cried, "What did you do to him?"
For a moment, the knob said nothing and I figured it was because it would not reveal where he'd kidnapped Sora to, but then I heard the smallest of cries from near my feet. Curiously, I looked down along with the others. Goofy said, "Look, there's Sora, Ahyuck!"
Sure enough, there he was, his little arm waving over his head energetically. He was no bigger than my pointer finger. I threw a dirty look over at the doorknob and asked as Donald took a sip from the vial, "Will we be able to get back to normal?"
"Hmph, what is normal? Certainly not what you are now..." he answered haughtily, promptly falling asleep.
Goofy merely shrugged his shoulders and also took a sip. I however, hesitated. Could I really trust what he was saying? I glanced to the others on the ground below and sighed. Finally, I stepped over to the table, took a sip and waited.
It was an odd sensation. It didn't hurt, but it was just very odd. All I could do was close my eyes and wait for the shimmering and spinning to stop.
"Keep up!" Donald quacked aggravated, already walking towards an archway that was revealed when he and Goofy fell against the bed. My eyes snapped open, and I glared at his retreating back. Man, I couldn't stand him.
Looking around, I noticed that everything seemed so much more intimidating at this height. The table was now as big as a two story house. But, when the first Heartless showed up, I was relieved to see that they were normal sized, not gigantic. The doorknob's words came back to me: …what is normal? Certainly not what you are now…
So maybe his annoying riddles did have some cryptic meaning…whatever.
Sora, I noticed, was looking around like a kid in a gigantic candy store. He said excitedly, his head on a swivel, "This is so cool!"
His eyes suddenly met mine, and I blushed, realizing I'd just been starring at him. But he merely grinned and took the opportunity to fall in step next to me and ask conversationally, "What do you think about this place?"
I think it's absolutely ridiculous, I thought, quickly looking away. I merely shrugged, however. For a moment, we walked in silence, which was probably more uncomfortable than his senseless conversation. I felt his eyes on me. I merely grit my teeth and stubbornly kept my eyes fixated on Donald and Goofy walking ahead of us.
"Your Keyblade is weird looking." He suddenly said. I looked up, half taken aback, half amused, and half a little irritated. He seemed to realize that he'd said something rude and quickly stammered, waving his arms around apologetically, "N-not weird, I-I meant just different, um…"
He trailed off, his embarrassment showing as his face flooded with color. We fell into an awkward silence. Maybe he really was annoying, but…could it be that that was just how he was? Was his positivity really the key to saving the worlds? It was a foreign thought to me. All my life, I could only count on myself and my own tenacity and hard work. This…boy was introducing a new outlook to me. It clashed horribly with my personality, but I could see now why everyone seemed so fond of him.
"Well…I think your Keyblade is weird looking too…" I mumbled, silently offering peace.
His face made me think of a fish, mouth opening and closing as he stared dumbfounded. I turned to look at him and smirked. At that moment, I felt a rush of happiness. For the first time in a long time, I was making an effort to joke with another person. And I wasn't afraid to open up. But that was as far as I was going to let it go for now.
Briskly, I set off at a faster pace, my mind focusing back on tracking down the white rabbit. Thankfully, we didn't have to search for long. We caught up to the rabbit, and found ourselves in a sort of court room that was surrounded by topiary and oversized cards that served as the guards to a small blonde haired girl. We looked on at her trial and found that the Queen/Judge was being ridiculously biased.
"That's not fair!" Sora cried, rushing to the girl's side.
"How dare you! Off with his-!" she screeched.
Sora cut her off and called, "It wasn't her! It was the Heartless!"
The woman seemed to debate the proposition for a short moment before demanding loudly, "Prove to me that it wasn't her with evidence."
I gaped up at her. Seriously? This crazy woman wanted us to run around for her amusement? Of course Sora immediately accepted.
"Why do you always do that?" I asked once we were on the search for our evidence. Sora turned to me and asked incredulously, "Do what?"
"Always stick your neck out for every person we run across!" I burst.
He seemed to be more mad than usual by what I said and cried angrily, "Because, that's what's right!"
We both stood fuming, glaring daggers. Why was I even mad? Normally, I couldn't care less what other people did. But for some reason, I felt so…protective of him. If he put himself in dangerous situations, I found myself wanting to go with him, or persuade him not to go in the first place. Was this the Protector's doing? Was that his power over me?
For the entirety of our search for the evidence that would prove Alice's innocence, we didn't speak to each other. He led the way, battling through the Heartless with ease. It was interesting watching him fight; so fluid. My first impression of him was far from that of a natural fighter, but it seemed like he'd been doing it for years. It was also interesting to see what I would do. At first, I didn't notice that whenever more Heartless bounded in, I would immediately go to Sora. Once I'd caught myself doing that, I tried staying on the opposite end of the area. Every time, I would slowly gravitate back to his side without realizing.
But, I didn't mind. When I did watch his back, I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to; super weird, but not bad. I still couldn't think of myself as his Protector. But the idea of it was growing on me. I had a purpose. For a while back in Travers Town, it didn't seem like I did. It had felt like my identity had been stolen.
"There." Sora stated triumphantly. "All the evidence we need to prove she's innocent!"
The Queen leered down at us, the look on her face clearly saying that she didn't think we'd actually succeed. After a moment, she straightened in her throne and called, "So be it, but I put in my own evidence as well!"
Four boxes appeared. Three held our evidence, one held the Queen's. Sora gulped and stepped towards them. I merely stood, eyeing the guards who had seemed to multiply in the past few seconds. She was planning something.
Shakily, Sora reached out and opened the last box on the left. A Heartless leapt from inside and stood swaying in front of us. Secretly, I cheered. He picked the right one! The Queen looked flabbergasted. She sat gaping down at the little monster in utter shock. After a moment, her face began to turn a splotchy purple, and she screeched in fury, "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"
All the guards jumped into action. I sprang out of the way just in time. A spear thudded into the ground right where I had been standing. Thinking quickly, I spun on my heel, calling out my Keyblade at the same time and swung it around, catching a Card's stubby legs sweeping them out from under him. Next, I dashed in the direction I last saw Sora, the fire of battle only smoldering inside me.
I found him at last, trying to break Alice out of her cage. He jumped and swung, trying to break open the metal gate high above. However, he wasn't paying attention to the guards around him. Two were closing in quickly. Without thinking, I sprinted forward. They were getting ready to spear Sora in the back.
At the last possible second, I was able to block one with my Keyblade. The other, I realized too late was going at an awkward angle under my arm. Again, without meaning to, I slid over and caught the edge of the blade with my side, making it glance away. I winced, but acted. Disregarding the pain, I shoved the other spear away and swung my Keyblade under his arm; one down. The other guard had recovered and was ready for my attack. He blocked, but barely. We fought for a few minutes before I was able to land a final blow to the side of his head.
"She's gone!" Sora cried from behind me. I turned and saw that he had managed to lower the cage. The curtains were pushed aside, and sure enough, she was gone. I stepped up beside him and peered around, looking for a trap door, but there was nothing.
"You're hurt!" Sora said, pointing to my wound. That reminds me…
"Idiot, it's your fault!" I snapped, punching him in the shoulder. "Watch your back!"
His eyes widened. As quickly as he could, he dug out a potion and made me drink.
"Sorry…"he muttered. "…I just wanted to save her."
He looked so upset, that my hand lifted to comfort him. I stopped myself and put it back at my side, instead saying, "I know…we'll find her."
His large cerulean eyes looked into my amethyst ones, shining with the hint of tears. No. If he starts crying, I will really not be able to be around him. I held up my hand just as he was about to speak and said, "Really. It's okay…"
He shut his mouth and smiled. Donald and Goofy then suggested that we go back to where our adventure started to see if there was any trace of her. Our backtracking was uneventful until we neared the entrance into the room where we became small. The Cheshire cat appeared out of thin air, grinning down at us and speaking in riddle laden sentences.
I got the gist that ahead would be something dangerous, and that we should check and make sure we were prepared for it. He then provided a blizzard spell.
"Blizzard!" Donald quacked, freezing a nearby tree trunk.
"Blizzard!" Goofy said, accidentally getting Donald. To which he replied with a humble, "Sorry Donald, Ahyuck."
Sora, to my surprise, was having a little difficulty with it. He cried out frustrated, "Blizzard!"
Nothing happened…again. Huffing, he began waving his Keyblade around like an angry two year old. I threw my hands up defensively and called, "That's not going to help, idiot!"
"I don't get it, what am I doing wrong?"
Rolling my eyes, I stood up, grabbed his arm and said, "Look, you have to feel it, otherwise nothing's going to happen."
Releasing him, I crossed my arms and waited. For a moment he didn't understand, and then he realized I meant for him to try again. He started and muttered, "Right" before squeezing his eyes shut as tightly as possible.
"Blizzard!" he said, pointing at a nearby bush. For one small second, I thought something was about to happen. But to my disappointment, only a small snowflake fell from the tip.
"Oops…" he muttered sheepishly. I just shook my head and continued walking along the path to the next room.
Halfway into the room, and nothing had happened yet. Had the cat just been messing with us? I looked around confused. But of course, it couldn't be as easy as that. Something large came crashing to the ground behind us, making me stumble and fall to one knee. Dread in every fiber of my being, I turned and looked up at the Boss Heartless. Standing a little taller than the table, it swayed before us on the balls of its feet, twirling two batons in its spindly fingers.
No way could something that creepy be real, I thought panic running through my body, rooting me to the spot. I didn't want to look like a wimp, but as soon as it started walking crookedly towards us, I felt my heart plummet way past my courage. It was just too scary. My eyes widened, and before I knew it, I was running to the other side of the table. The others followed, thinking we'd come up with some sort of plan. But every time I looked over my shoulder, I saw that thing walking jerkily towards us, and had to keep sprinting.
Finally, I paused to catch my breath and Sora caught up. He asked breathlessly, "What're you doing?"
"I-I can't…" I stuttered my eyes growing wide as I saw it rounding the corner.
His own eyes filled with understanding as I kept glancing over his head at the Heartless nearing. His hand clamped down on my arm hard, and he said quickly, "You don't have to be scared. It's just a Heartless."
I had enough sense to be embarrassed. I cried angrily, "I'm not scared!"
He merely smiled and said, "Let's go, then!"
My mouth fell open slightly as he began jogging toward the creature. He was smarter than he looked; trying to goad me into fighting. But, despite that, I still couldn't bring myself to move. Donald and Goofy had also gone to run around its legs, casting spells and slashing. Sora I noticed looked uncharacteristically serious as he narrowly dodged an attack. And for the first time since meeting him, I felt admiration. At the same moment, the fire within me suddenly blazed, and I ran headlong into the battle, blocking a baton from sweeping around and getting Donald.
We fought hard, and it seemed like forever before any one side gained any ground. It had now ignited the batons it twirled, effectively gaining the upper hand. I slid to a stop, panting, and wondered why none of my attacks seemed to be doing much damage. The Heartless was still coming after us; just as vigorously as when we first started. Goofy yelped in pain, and I glanced over at him. There was a rush of wind, the smell of smoke, and all at once it felt like every fiber of my being had been blown away by the force of the flaming baton slamming into my chest.
I crumpled into a heap on the ground a few feet away, unable to draw a breath. When Goofy came lumbering over, I finally gasped and spluttered, clutching my burnt chest tightly. He handed me a potion and started helping me to my feet. That's when Donald went soaring over our heads. Realization washed over me: Sora was out there alone. I pushed Goofy away and muttered, "Go help Donald."
I gritted my teeth against the pain and ran forward. I called out once I was by his side, "I've got a plan! Do you still have magic left?"
He nodded, narrowly missing a swipe from the baton.
"Okay, I'll distract it, you cast blizzard on the baton!" I said, immediately going into action, not waiting to see if he agreed or not. I sprang up, attacking its knees and began drawing it away. I glanced over and saw Sora, eyes screwed shut, concentrating with all his might on casting that spell.
"C'mon…!" I muttered, dodge-rolling away from another attack. "Feel it!"
I had been concentrating too long on what Sora was doing, and didn't see the baton swooping down on me in time. Once again, I was caught in the chest and flung a few feet away. I coughed, white spots dotting my vision. Groaning, I only just managed to see a burst of ice go flying over my head.
Finally! I thought, rolling onto my side, careful not to disturb my new burn too much. Donald, Goofy, and Sora were now casting Blizzard. It was easy to take it down after that. Just as it disappeared, the doorknob woke up and yawned, "What's with all that racket?"
I was about to answer angrily, when Sora's Keyblade suddenly shuddered in his hand, and pointed itself at the doorknob. I watched in awe as a thin bright light erupted out of the point and shot into the knob's mouth. For a moment, nothing happened, and then I heard a resolute click of a lock being closed. At once Sora's Keyblade fell back to his side and all became silent.
"What was that?" Sora asked in awe, testing the end of the blade with his finger.
"Didn't Leon say something about this sorta thing happening?" Goofy asked, scratching his head quizzically. "Somethin' about lockin' the worlds…?"
We all stood a moment, thinking on that. I didn't remember anything about it, but the others did. Then again, I didn't pay much attention to conversations when I was there. So I shrugged and asked, "So are we gonna go and lock another world, now?"
The others looked over at me, then back at each other and nodded.
