Oh boy…where to even start.
Well first off I am skipping my usual introduction to say a few things to my fellow readers. First off I hope you all had a good Christmas and for those of you reading this in the year 2012 that you have a great new year as well.
In light of recent events I would like to ask that all of you close your eyes and take a moment of silence in honor of the victims in the Newtown shooting. It truly is a terrible tragedy. Thank you.
And now I apologize for the delay I would like to present chapter 3!
I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney or any of the characters that are in it. Those rights belong to Square Enix and Walt Disney. But I'm sure all of you should have that memorized by now.
Happy Reading!
Kingdom Hearts III: Xehanorts Ambitions
Chapter 3
Dark Secrets
Three dark men stood before the ruins of a castle once known as Hollow Bastion. Its towers were crumbling from the darkness that once wrecked havoc over it. The eldest of this trio smiled with his wicked grin. Beholding what had become of his old home filled him with a sense of satisfaction, the proof that his power was mighty enough to destroy this world and have it consumed by darkness. To cause mayhem of such magnitude that people had forgotten its true name over time, and had renamed it after the emptiness it held inside. This was Radiant Garden.
The man on the right of the eldest held one of his dual guns behind his back, preparing for any unforeseen obstacles they may have to dispose of. His black hair bobbed slightly as he walked alongside his master and fellow member. His right eye patched as a reminder not to mess with Keyblade wielders.
Number IV, The Free Shooter
The man on the left of the ancient one long blue hair that flowed swiftly behind his back. An X-shaped scar crossed between his eyes as sharp as ice. His thirst for the moon to shine upon him so that he could unleash his full potential was evident as he gripped his claymore tightly in his right hand.
Number V, The Luna Diviner
The elderly man in the middle was bald due to his age, but still had a grey goatee that stuck out from his chin. He held his gloved hands behind his back firmly, not bothering to withdraw his Keyblade for he expected that his armed comrades would handle any trouble they came across. The only thing on his mind was the object that he had hidden within the deepest depths of this castle months ago. An object that would bring him one step further to his ultimate goal, to create the x-blade.
Number I, The Seeker of Darkness
Master Xehanort led his comrades Braig and Isa into the castle entrance and into the maze of endless hallways in search of a particular room. Braig and his natural need to be in on Xehanorts plans could no longer resist asking his question.
"Um, Xehanort, what exactly are we looking for in this place? I mean look at it! The place became a dump from all the damage we did to it." Stated Braig.
Xehanort paused for a moment before answering this question. "In order to drown Sora's heart in darkness we will need to forge a secret weapon that we can use to infiltrate his life and take him down. I have hidden something in this castle ages ago that will enable us to do just that." Said Xehanort.
"And what would be capable of doing that?" Chimed in Isa.
Xehanort chuckled darkly. "Another person to become connected to his heart."
…
"Donald let me grab a piece I'm starving here!" Moaned a spiky haired brunette boy.
The short white duck known as Donald turned to face Sora. "Don't be greedy Sora. You've only been awake for five minutes and you've already eaten half of the desserts here!" Donald then proceeded to return to devouring his plate of sweets.
Sora pouted slightly as Goofy and Donald continued to thrive from his attitude. Sure they all seem real happy to have me back…they won't even let me have a third helping of cake.
A small gasp was heard in the background as the platinum haired boy lying on the floor began to arouse from his slumber. He let out another soft moan, slowly his aquamarine eyes flickered open. A familiar mouse eared fellow was hovering over him.
"Riku!" Exasperated Mickey. He sighed with relief; everything was going to be ok. As Riku took in his surroundings he noticed that a few others were staring at him as well. Lea and Yen Sid looked at him optimistically, waiting for him to make the first move. But something didn't seem right to Riku. If he had woken up safe and sound then where was…
"Sora!" Riku exclaimed as he sat up rapidly. His worries vanished instantaneously however, as he noticed his smiling spiky haired comrade was arguing with a duck and a dog over what appeared to be a cake. There were also tea cups and other delectable's set up in a formal matter on the table. "I must have been sleeping for too long, Sora is actually having a tea party." Riku thought. The three of them were wearing party hats to celebrate the occasion.
"Hey!" Shouted Riku as he tried to get his friends attention. Sora slowly turned around as if he had been caught doing something wrong. Riku stifled a laugh as he noticed the disguise mask on Sora's face. When Sora finally realized what had happened he immediately discarded his hat and mask.
"Riku." Sora spoke softly. A smile formed on his boyhood face. Riku returned the grin as he scratched the back of his head. He then gasped as Sora threw his arms around him into a bear hug. "You're safe Riku!" He said. His joy was clearly being expressed in his tone. Riku struggled to sit back up due to the weight of his friend, when he finally managed to loosen Sora's crushing hold on him he drew in some fresh air to recover from the breath be knocked out of him.
"Wait, haven't we got this backwards?" Said Riku. He then looked towards the rest of the gang, daring to ask the question. "And why are you having a tea party?"
Instead of answering his questions, Sora continued to express his enthusiasm by hugging Riku again. "You're safe Riku!" He said cheerfully.
"Why do I bother, its Sora." Riku thought. He then sighed out of defeat and smacked himself in the head. "Ah, never mind." He said. As his train of thought finally came full circle, he finally remembered the task at hand and why he was there in the first place. "You ok, are you feeling alright?" His concern was evident.
Sora released Riku from his grip again. "Yeah I've never been better." He said with a fist pump.
"As if that wasn't obvious enough." Riku thought.
Sora then continued explaining his story. "I could see what was going between you guys and Xehanort during my dream. And I could hear your voice in particular the whole time. Thanks Riku." He said. Sora then turned and gestured to everyone else in the room. "Thanks everybody."
Donald, Goofy and Lea all smiled at his gesture. Everyone in the room then turned to Master Yen Sid as he cleared his throat. He then motioned for everyone to seat around his desk to resume business.
And so Yen Sid apologized for sending Sora and Riku on this perilous journey that placed them right into Xehanort's clutches. Yen Sid then announced that Riku had shown the Mark of Mastery and was now a Keyblade Master, Sora on the other hand had failed. Nevertheless Sora was unaffected by this news and remained high spirited, Sora then departed for Traverse Town, leaving Riku and the others behind at the Mysterious Tower.
Riku leaned against the cream colored wall and slumped to the floor. He was still trying to absorb that he was now a Keyblade Master. In his darkest hours, he truly believed that the Keyblade was not his to bear. For he had fallen so deeply into the darkness, that he teetered on the edge of becoming darkness itself. But that was all behind him now. He was now Riku the Keyblade Master. The Wielder of darkness, who serves the light. He stuck his hands in his pockets, and sighed. His eyes drooping gently, waiting to fall asleep so that he could get a chance to recover from his battle with Xehanort. However, something didn't feel quite right to Riku. He was almost positive that his pockets were empty before he entered Sora's dreams for the second time so why did he feel like he had a wad of paper crammed in his pocket. Riku pulled out the mysterious object, it was several pages of folded up paper. It had aged to a lovely shade of light brown and was crumpled from being wedged in his pocket.
"Saix's journal." Riku whispered in astonishment. He then envisioned Xion placing it in the palm of his hands gently before stuffing it into his pants pocket. He then pried it apart and attempted to smooth out the creases in it before reading.
Saix's Diary Page that Xion Gave to Riku
"The Replication Program has now drawn to a close due to the elimination of Vexen at Castle Oblivion. The only current known specimen that has been successful in wielding the Keyblade is number XIV Xion. The whereabouts of the puppet Vexen took to Castle Oblivion are currently unknown. Xemnas confided to me that there were more than two puppets created in the Replication Program, and that he was going to store the leftover vessels in a safe place that no one knows of except for him. The only hint he would give me to the location, was that it was his secret place. I wonder what this place could be; it couldn't be the realm of darkness for that would be far too risky to visit down there too often. Perhaps it is in a building, like Castle Oblivion, the twilight town mansion, or perhaps some hidden place in my old home.
Where ever it may be. I truly doubt it is anywhere near this world, it is far too close to the realm of darkness. Thankfully, we don't have hearts that could be corrupted. Or so we say…
Well that is all for today, their never really is much to write in these wretched things, or maybe it's just me."
Riku immediately jumped to his feet and rushed up to Yen Sids desk. He slammed the crumpled piece of paper in front of the old man, startling him slightly. Riku then tried smoothing out the sheets of paper even more before pushing it within the wizards reading range.
"These are several sheets torn out of a diary that belonged to an Organization XIII member known as Saix. They are said to contain some information that may be of use to me- I mean us." Said Riku. He scratched the back of his head nervously as the old man observed the diary pages meticulously.
"Where did you come across this Riku?" Said Yen Sid. The old wizard held the documents closer to his eyes as he read through them in depth.
Riku cleared his throat softly. "I'm afraid that secret will have to stay with me sir." Said Riku.
Yen Sid set the papers down on his desk and pushed them aside. He then looked up at Riku and smiled slightly. "And a secret it shall remain, for now." Said Yen Sid. The wizard then stood up from his luxurious throne chair and walked over to the single oval window in the room. "I have an assignment for you Master Riku, if you are willing to accept it." Said Yen Sid.
Being a new Keyblade Master Riku was assigned a mission by Yen Sid to retrieve a potential Keyblade wielder from Destiny Islands and to bring her to him immediately. Afterwards while Donald and Goofy and Lea waited for their friends return outside of the tower King Mickey and Yen Sid were in a heated discussion over the recent turn of events that could change the fate of the worlds.
"So if we don't gather our seven guardians of light, Xehanort will target the seven princesses of heart?" Asked Mickey. The king was attempting to comprehend what Yen Sids predictions were, and unfortunately for Mickey and his friends, Yen Sid had a knack for accurate prophecies.
"Indeed Mickey. Xehanort's main goal has now been made clear. He is determined to forge the x-blade no matter what the cost is. The future he sees before him is no longer a delusion that exists only in his mind; it is now a very possible insight as to what our reality may become. The seven princesses of heart are triggers that activate the seven guardians of light. If we choose not to stand up against him, he will attack them and new guardians of light will be chosen to defend them." Said Yen Sid.
Mickey paced back and forth frantically. "There must be a way out of this, there has to be!" He thought. He began to ease up a bit before sitting back down in his chair. "That's it then. We're all trapped. We have to fight Xehanort and his seekers of darkness; he wants the x-blade and Kingdom Hearts to be his."
Yen Sid nodded, his eyebrows furrowed slightly to hide the sorrow that resided in his old heart. "The re-awakening of the Keyblade War looms before us. As Keyblade wielders it is our duty to protect the worlds from this calamity, we must do everything in our power to prepare for its arrival." Said Yen Sid.
"Then what can I do for now. What can the guardians of light do to protect the worlds?" Asked Mickey.
"For the time being the worlds remain safe from Xehanort's grasp. We should gather the princesses at once and alert them to the threat he has posed against him. The right thing to do is for our guardians to protect them, and in the mean time to locate all possible candidates for our legion. Your three friends that fought valiantly against Xehanort would all be ideal for the task; unfortunately we must face the truth. Xehanort has already claimed Terra for his Seekers of darkness, likely in one of his forms suitable for controlling. As for Aqua and Ventus, we must search for the girl first, for without her Ventus will remain out of our reach in Castle Oblivion. As for the rest, Sora, Riku and yourself have all proven to be worthy as guardians of light, this just leaves only two wielders to find and I believe they are closer than we think my dear King." Said Yen Sid. A slight smile formed on his face as his fingers twisted his tangled beard.
"Who!?" Blurted out Mickey.
As soon as the outburst was over a knock was heard at the door. "You may enter Riku." Pardoned Yen Sid as he motioned for the door to sway open.
Riku opened the door swiftly, shielding the guest he had brought with him from everyone's view. He then stepped aside and held the door open for a beautiful red haired girl wearing a short pink dress. Mickey's eyes grew wider and wider as the girl walked forward slowly.
Riku cleared his throat slightly and gestured towards the fair maiden casually. "Master Yen Sid, allow me to introduce Kairi, the girl you requested me to bring to you." Said Riku.
Kairi giggled at his semi-professional introduction.
"I have heard many things about you Kairi, including the fact that you can wield a Keyblade, is this true?" Asked Yen Sid. Kairi nodded her head courteously.
The Kings jaw dropped out of shock from the revelation.
…
(Meanwhile in Traverse Town)
Sora smiled joyfully as he strolled through the cobblestone square of Traverse Town. Everything was just the way he remembered it. From the red roofed Victorian styled buildings to the dim orange hued street lamps. All contained in the boundaries of a never changing starry sky. Sora paused in the center of the plaza and leaned against an iron light post staring off into the distance.
"Where are they, I thought I'd be able to see them here." He thought. His hopes of seeing all of his dream eater pals were starting to diminish. The longer he waited, more he felt like he was wasting his time for nothing. The air suddenly grew cool, causing him to shiver slightly.
"Something doesn't feel right here, maybe I should leave now." Sora started rubbing his hands together to stay warm; the air was now frigid for some strange reason. He pulled out his Keyblade and pointed it towards the world exit doors and summoned a light portal. Just as he was about to enter its depths however it closed shut.
"What is going on here?" Yelled out Sora in his confusion.
The sound of rubber boots could be heard clicking across the stone floor could be heard nearby. Sora whirled around and found himself face to face with a hooded organization XIII member. Sora immediately got into battle stance with his Keyblade pointing at the stranger. "Who are you?" He demanded.
The robed figure chuckled darkly. "You should know, Sora. Now that you are one of us." He said.
Sora clenched his teeth out of fury. "I am not one of your kind, nor will I ever be!"
"Is that so?" He said curiously as he tilted his head to the side. He then walked straight up to Sora and pointed at his heart. Sora shuddered at how cold this stranger's touch was. "The sigil, can you feel it burn when you are near me?" He said. He pressed his gloved finger sharply into Sora's chest.
Sora choked on his breath from the burning sensation in his lungs. It felt as if a thousand knives were all jabbing at his heart, trying to rip it out.
"Ah so you can feel its burn. Good, the process has already begun to take root. Very soon Sora, your heart shall be ready for what the Organization has in store for you." Said the Member with glee.
"What's…happening….to me?" Sora barely choked out. His vision was becoming blurry, he felt as if he was on the verge of passing out. Sora fell on his knees and hit the ground swiftly. All he could see was the mysterious organization member towering over him. Slowly the scenery around him began to dissolve into pitch black darkness until there was nothing left.
The last thing Sora heard before passing out was the mocking voice of the mysterious member. "Goodbye for now, Sora." Said the stranger.
The organization prodded Sora with his foot to ensure that he was now unconscious; he chuckled when he received no response. He then lifted his hands up and removed his hood. Out of its depths flowed lengthy locks of filthy sleek blond tinted hair. His once emerald eyes were now toned a sinister yellow. He felt no need to draw out his blue shield that was colder than ice itself.
Number VI The Frozen Scholar
Even stared at his victim amusedly. Just as he had suspected Xehanort's magic was already at work inside the Keyblade heroine. His motives for this encounter were as solid as his ice cold intentions. The plan had been set in motion and now all they had to do was wait for the chosen Keyblade wielder to fall right into their dark clutches.
Even summoned a dark portal and entered it swiftly. Leaving behind a broken boy who had no one to come to his rescue.
…
(Back at Radiant Garden)
Master Xehanort continued to smile with glee as the three of them had finally reached the door that led into the office of a departed noble scholar known as Ansem the Wise. The room had obviously been ransacked for some reason as papers had been scattered across the floor. Furniture had been shuffled around in search of something. A portrait of a young man with long flowing platinum hair had been torn off the wall and discarded on to the ground. Underneath were all of Xehanort's secret findings through experiments on the heart.
Master Xehanort's grin suddenly vanished, and was quickly replaced by a scowl as he realized that the entrance to the computer laboratory had been breached, possibly exposing his secret hideaway! He rushed into the room out of fury, leaving behind a bewildered Braig and Isa.
Xehanort peered over the railings that barred him from his artificial heartless factory and sighed with relief. The entrance to the underground storage room was still sealed. He then glanced over at his computer that he had hacked with the program known as MCP.
"It's obviously been tampered with, no doubt by that boy. But no matter, it is no longer of any use to me." Thought Xehanort. Braig and Isa then entered the computer room and admired it in awe.
"Boy it's been ages since I've last scene this room." Said Braig. He then peered over the ledge into the factory, rows of orb shaped clutches forged from steel by the thousands rested below, each one capable of producing an artificial heartless in unison. Braig walked over to Xehanort and cuffed his shoulder. "I still remember when we cranked out artificial heartless by the thousands nearly every day, eh boss man?" Said Braig coyly.
Xehanort merely grunted and began his descent down the spiral staircase to the ground level of the factory. Isa followed him suit but as he passed Braig he quickly smacked Braig on his shoulder.
"Gah! What was that for?" Complained Braig.
"Were here on a mission, quit trying to make a fool of yourself by pretending you and the Superior are best pals." Said Isa. He then resumed trailing after Xehanort.
Braig just shrugged off his accomplice's remark and followed their lead. When the three of them reached the ground level of the factory Xehanort summoned his Keyblade and pointed it directly at the steel floor several feet ahead of them. A keyhole revealed itself and Xehanort's Keyblade began to vibrate. A beam of light shot out from the tip of the blade and unlocked the keyhole. When it had finally faded away the floor surrounding it dissolved to reveal a hidden staircase.
"So this is his secret place, I guess it doesn't surprise me after all, now that I'm with him instead of against him." Thought Isa.
Xehanort motioned for Isa and Braig to continue following him down the final staircase that led to his private underground storage room. As they pursued on the narrow spiral descent into the deepest depths of the castle Braig's natural habit of being a chatterbox could no longer be held back.
"So Xehanort, now that we each harbor a piece of your heart inside of us, does that make us fully fledged Keyblade wielders or something?" Asked Braig.
Xehanort rolled his eyes out of annoyance. "Have either one of you taken a close look at your weapons lately, there should be a keychain hanging from each now. Each one of them should identically represent my Keyblade, symbolizing that you are a part of me. So yes, this does make you wielders of the Keyblade Braig." Said Xehanort.
As Braig and Isa examined the new discovery they had made about their weapons Xehanort sighed. "The X-blade can only be forged by twenty Keyblade wielders both light and dark, how else did they think it would happen. By magic! Idiots." Thought Xehanort.
At the bottom of stone staircase laid a blue tinted ornate marble door. Its design was similar to the ones found in Castle Oblivion. Xehanort merely held his arm forward and the door swayed itself open. The color of the door remained consistent in the room behind it. The illusion of chains bonding to the center of the room illuminated occasionally. The room was devoid of life, let alone a single throne chair and a pile of armor that laid before it. Braig scoffed as he recognized who the armor belonged to. He then walked towards the blue and silver hued armor and nudged it with his foot.
"Long time no see." Said Braig. As if it were responding to his statement, the armor sprung to life. Starting at the feet first, it quickly compiled itself into its full form; its arm reached down and picked up the long slender blue Keyblade that was at its feet. The armor went into battle stance and took aim at Braig. Just as it was about to slash Braig across the face, Isa intercepted it with his claymore.
Isa then slammed his knee into its gut and kicked it against the wall. The deafening clang of metal on stone echoed off the walls in the room, but the armor seemed unaffected by Isa's attack. It set its sights to Isa and charged at him instead. Isa swung his claymore and knocked it to the ground, he then held his weapon lengthwise and used his weight to pin the armor beneath it.
Xehanort chuckled as he watched the armor struggle to escape its trap. He then flicked his wrist, causing the armor to drop lifelessly. "That should temporarily subdue it. One of my greater traps that I took time developing I would say. It will attempt to destroy anyone that ever sets foot in this room." He added.
He then walked over to the center of the wall behind the chair. In the center of all the intricate carvings was another keyhole. Xehanort quickly pointed his blade at it, and sure enough the familiar click sound was heard confirming he unlocked it. This time however several creases in the wall formed in the shape of a two rectangles, these rectangles then popped out from the wall and slid aside as if they were glass doors. This revealed the two body capsule pods hidden within it. Both bodies locked in these air locked containers donned organization cloaks.
Xehanort twisted his goatee absentmindedly as he pondered over which one to choose for his dark purpose. He settled on the one to the right and opened the pod. Braig and Isa's eyes widened as the puppet stepped out of the pod on its own will. "Yes, you will do just fine." Said Xehanort gleefully.
A dark portal suddenly opened up near the entrance, and out stepped Even from its swirling depths.
"Even! Glad you could join the party too!" Said Braig mockingly.
"Oh will you just shut up already." Mumbled Even.
Braig's jaw dropped. "Already? But you just got here!" Said Braig.
Even shook his head out of annoyance. He then cleared his throat to get Xehanort's attention. Xehanort seated the puppet in the throne chair and then turned to face Even, his eyes glinted hungrily for the news he desired. "Master Xehanort, I am here to confirm that the darkness in Sora's heart has begun to develop as planned." Said Even in a dutiful manner.
Xehanort grinned mischievously. "Perfect. Then we can move on to the next step already. Isa and Braig I have an assignment for you two." Barked Xehanort.
The two of them immediately stood before him ready to receive orders. Xehanort pointed at the puppet. "This puppet here is going to be our thirteenth member, once it holds a piece of my heart." Said Xehanort.
"But I thought Sora was supposed to be our thirteenth member?" Questioned Isa.
"Originally yes. But once again, I have been forced to alter my plans accordingly to suit my goals. This puppet here will take on my appearance once It harbors my heart, however this not what I want it to be. I need this puppet to take on the appearance of Sora's dearly beloved Kairi." Said Xehanort.
"But… the only reason why Xion changed appearances was due to the fact that she was absorbing Sora's memories through Roxas. So how can we alter this things appearance without stealing anyone's memories?" Asked Braig.
Even stepped forward and examined the puppet more closely. "It's quite simple actually. If the puppet is exposed to an object of deep esteem and affection, it will take on the appearance of the objects creator. Objects that are considered symbolic to people are ideal for this, such as charms, wedding rings, treasured photos and other priceless trinkets." Said Even.
Xehanort acknowledged what Even had said and then turned to Isa and Braig. "Very well, it seems that your mission is to find an object of some emotional significance to Kairi and bring it to me at once." Said Xehanort.
"Yes Master." Said Isa. He then summoned a dark portal and stepped through.
Braig followed suit. "Righto Boss. Catch you later." He said before entering the portal.
The portal vanished in a flash, leaving behind Xehanort, Even, and a puppet. Even continued to observe the puppet more closely before realizing something. "Have you considered what its name shall be yet?"
Xehanort glared at the puppet in silence. "You know… for once… I may have to actually think about this thoroughly." Said Xehanort.
Even face palmed himself. "Did he really just say that? He's supposed to be the all knowing mastermind here. Ugh." He thought to himself.
…
Darkness.
Light will fall into darkness, and darkness will fade to light. And he was destined to be the darkness. While Riku returned to the light.
That is all that Sora could think about. That one little shred of truth is all that kept his light burning strong. Even though he felt as if he had been sucked into a never ending sink hole with no hope of escape. "Why is this happening? What am I going to become?" He asked himself.
He awaited a response. But from what, he didn't know. He inhaled deeply only to exhale slowly. "Maybe what Xehanort said was true. This is all destined to happen. The seven guardians of light and the thirteen seekers of darkness will fight to form the Keyblade. And he would be one of Xehanort's Organization members, attacking the light, attacking… his friends. Sora felt tears welling up in his eyes, but he didn't bother to wipe them away, for who was around to hide them from.
"Sora!" A muffled male voice yelled out.
Sora immediately wiped away his tears. He couldn't believe that someone was there.
"Sora please…wake up." Cried out a female voice.
"Could that be…Kairi?" Sora whispered to himself.
Suddenly an orb of light formed in front of Sora, it then morphed into the shape of a familiar young woman. The heavenly female figure held out her arm for Sora. He reached out rather slowly and grabbed a hold of her firmly. She then pulled him closer and clasped his hands tightly in hers.
"Sora…come back." The female voice called out softly. As the golden girl slowly wrapped her arms around his chest, the voices started to become less muffled.
"Sora…Sora…Sora!...SORA!" The two voices cried in unison. At that last shout of his name, Sora shut his eyes tightly and then slowly opened them. A blurry head was hanging over him, mouthing his name. Sora forced himself to blink a few more times. As his vision began to refocus he noticed that the figure had long flowing red hair, with crystal clear blue eyes brimming with tears.
The woman noticed that he was starting to awaken. She then dried up her tears quickly with the back of her hand. "He's waking up!" She yelled out with joy.
Sora then figured out in an instant who this gorgeous girl was. He slowly reached up and stroked her cream skinned face gently with his hand. "Kairi… is that really you?" He asked softly.
Kairi giggled at his uncertainty. "Yes Sora, it really is." She said.
Sora moaned as he sat up, he felt like he had been pinned under a ton of bricks and was finally being released. "Aaaahhhh my neck hurts." He complained in a jokingly manner.
He was then caught off guard however by another presence in the room. "That's it? You looked as if someone had wiped the floor with you and all you're complaining about is your neck hurting?" Said Riku. He was leaning against the wall several feet from Sora's bed.
Sora looked around the room. Last time he remembered, he passed out on a cold stone floor. Now he was resting in his cozy bed with midnight blue sheets. The cream colored walls were mostly bare despite the handful of photos hanging up above his bed. He then peered over the edge of the bed to see his floor. The usual collaboration of shorts and t-shirts that covered his floor had been put away neatly in his closet, no doubt by his mother. He then looked back up at Kairi, who was wearing her usual short pink dress with a smile. Sora smiled, he was home.
"So are you going to talk or you just going to sit there and gawk?" Said Riku mockingly.
Sora glanced back at Riku. "I'd like to do both, but first I got a question." Said Sora.
"Ask away, only if I get to do the same." Replied Riku.
"Deal. Ok, so how did I end up from Traverse Town to my bedroom?" Asked Sora as he gestured with his fingers moving from one place to another.
"I can answer that." Chimed in Kairi. "Riku and I were waiting for you to return at Yen Sid's tower. After you were gone for several hours Riku went off to look for you, and found you collapsed in the town square. So when Riku brought you back Yen Sid told us to take you home and wait for you to wake up." She added.
"Ah, I see….how long was I out?" Asked Sora.
"Easy tiger, first I want to know what went down back there that left you unconscious." Asked Riku.
Sora sat silent for a moment as he struggled to recall everything. "Well…I remember entering the town square and leaning against a lamppost waiting to see if my dream eaters would show up. And when they didn't I tried leaving but I was stopped in my tracks by an Organization member. They said that I belonged among their ranks now and when I denied it….. he must have attacked me or something. I don't remember anything after that." Said Sora. He knew in his head exactly what caused him to pass out but he wasn't about to say that in front of Kairi.
"Did you recognize the member at all?" Riku continued.
"No. He kept his hood on the whole time. It definitely wasn't Xehanort himself but they were one of his followers." Answered Sora.
Riku stroked his chin as he absorbed everything Sora had told him about his mysterious encounter. "Well, I can say that this was a bit of a close call for you Sora. So for now, no more solo adventures in other worlds unless you really have to." Ordered Riku.
Sora's smile changed into a pout face. "Sheesh. Just because you're a Keyblade master now doesn't mean you gotta treat me like a kid…I'm almost 16 Riku!" Complained Sora.
Riku chuckled at his friends comment. "This has nothing to do with how childish you can be nor what I have become. It's just a temporary precaution to avoid having me drag you back here like deadweight." Said Riku. Sora continued to scowl.
Kairi placed her hand gently on his padded shoulder. "Cheer up Sora; we're just glad you're ok." She said. She then got off of Sora's bed and stood up. "How about we go for a walk Sora, it'll do you good to get some fresh air and take your mind off of these things." Said Kairi. She then offered her hand to help him up.
Sora glanced at Kairi, then back to Riku. Riku nodded in agreement. "Go on Sora, we can discuss things later but for now, I think you've earned a break." Said Riku. Sora then grabbed a hold of Kairi's hand and stood up.
"Fine, you win." He sighed in defeat. Kairi let out her usual feminine giggle and lead him out of the room, down the wooden floor staircase and out the front door.
As Sora stepped outside he was greeted by a bright blue sky. The sound of the ocean waves crashing upon shore could be heard in the distance and smell of sea salt filled the air. A few palm trees with lush green leaves were in several of his neighbor's yards.
"If feels good to be home Kairi." Sighed Sora as the two of them walked down the sidewalk leading to the beach.
"It didn't feel like home to me without you, Sora." Said Kairi quietly.
Sora turned and looked back at Kairi. She did the same, blushing slightly. Sora then wrapped his right arm around Kairi's waist and pulled her close to him. "It wouldn't feel like home without you either Kairi." He replied.
…
Well this concludes chapter 3 of Kingdom Hearts: Xehanort's Ambitions. Thanks for reading this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think by reviewing below!
Thanks again!
Be back with Chapter 4 soon!