Author's Note: Lightning Estheim Chapter 7! This chapter is much more longer than I expected it to be. Oh well, introducing Sora and Riku (from Kingdom Hearts) into this chapter.
Chapter 7: Introducing Max Power
"Alright Hope!" Kairi exclaimed as she pushed me into a hair salon chair. "Let's start with your haircut!"
"Wait, wait! Wait a minute!" I screamed as she turned on the electric razor. "I thought we're gonna get a PROFESSIONAL hair salon person!"
"Oh please, you don't think that I'm as good as they are?" Kairi replied in a cocky tone. "I work here as an intern!"
"Kairi!" A woman shouted from the front desk. "What the hell are you doing here? This isn't your shift right now!"
"But let me just-"
"NO! You just started yesterday and you ruined all of our customer's hair!"
"But-"
"Get out!" The lady demanded as she pointed at the exit.
Kairi sighed and turned off the electric razor.
"Phew!" I sighed in relief. There's no way I'm letting this crazy bitch cut my beautiful hair!
"Ugh...come on Hope, let's go...this hag is ruining everything..." Kairi whispered to me as we exited from the hair salon.
"So what about my hair?" I asked as I tried to cover it with my hands. "If PSICOM finds me, I'm dead!"
"Psh, you're already dead!" Kairi joked as we got in her car.
"So what am I gonna do? I need to hurry up and change myself!" I cried as I slumped down on the passenger seat, hoping that no one would recognize me.
"Well...we could go to my place." Kairi suggested.
"Okay, that sounds cool." I agreed as we started to drive away from hair salon.
"I must warn you..." Kairi said in a soft voice. "I live with 3 people. "
"What?"
"I live with my boyfriend, my girl friend, and my other guy friend.
"WHAT!"
"Oh don't worry, they can keep our little secret!" Kairi winked as we continued driving, until we stopped at a private driveway.
"Huh?" I peered outside the window. All I saw was a giant locked golden gate and a keypad.
"Hold on!" Kairi said as she went outside. She then started to type some kind of password on the keypad which opened the gate.
"Ok!" Kairi exclaimed as we continued to drive on the driveway.
"Holy crap!" I exclaimed as I saw a huge mansion, surrounded by fountains, flowers, and other outdoor decorations.
"This is my aunt and uncle's aka Lightning and Serah's parents beach house." Kairi introduced as she parked the car in the middle of the driveway.
"Aren't you going to park this car in the garage?" I asked. But Kairi shook her head.
"Don't worry, Lightning's parents already hire a couple of men to park cars for them." Kairi explained as we both exited the car.
"Hello Miss. Farron!" A man greeted Kairi.
"Here ya go!" Kairi said as she threw the key at the man. "If there's bird poop on it, then you're cleaning it!"
"Yes ma'am!" The man agreed as he parked the car in the garage nearby. God, why can't Kairi park the damn car herself? Lazy bitch...
"So...are Lightning's parents here?" I asked as Kairi knocked on the front door.
"Nope, their on a business trip to Eden." Kairi replied as she started to bang the door even harder. "Open the damn door Sora!"
"So they're business people?" I continued to ask. Wow, they must be very successful..
"Well yeah. They own a big chain of restaurants and companies. They're pretty wealthy." Kairi replied as someone finally opened the door.
Well no shit. You have a Mercedes-Benz, Serah has a BMW, Lightning also owns a Mercedes-Benz, and there's this huge mansion that they own. Hmm, I would've never guessed.
"Hello? Oh hey Kairi..." A tall, spiky, brown hair, guy greeted in a sleepy voice.
"What took you so long?" Kairi complained as she shoved him away from the door. "This is an emergency!"
"Well sorry! I was taking a nap..." The brown hair teenager replied as he made a loud yawn. "So umm...who's this guy?" He asked as he pointed to me.
"Huh?" I asked. "Oh I'm-"
"-The Emergency!" Kairi interrupted as she pulled me inside the mansion.
"What?" Sora asked in a confused voice. "What's going on?"
But Kairi didn't bother to explain anything to Sora and dragged me into a couch nearby.
"Sora, where's Riku ?" Kairi asked impatiently. "Where is he?"
"What the hell is going on Kairi?" Sora kept asking. "Who is this guy? And why do you need Riku?"
Sora finally gave up and sat down on the couch next to me. "So what's up?" He greeted. "I'm Sora."
He then shook my hand. "What's your name?"
"I'm-"
"RIKU!" Kairi screamed as I told Sora my name, obviously couldn't hear. "GET OVER HERE! IT'S AN EMERGENCY!"
"Ugh, what's wrong with this bitch..." Sora complained as we heard Riku coming downstairs.
"What is it?" Riku asked. He was sweaty and shirtless, so I'm guessing that he was working out.
"Ew...put on a shirt or something..." Kairi said in disgust as Riku quickly put on dirty shirt that was nearby.
"Anyway..." Kairi said in a perky voice. "Everyone, this is...Hope Estheim!"
Riku and Sora stared at me and then gasped.
"What? No way!" Sora exclaimed as he hopped off the couch. "You-you, you're supposed to be dead man!"
"Huh? How do you guys know?" I asked.
"It's all over the news man!" Riku replied as he turned on a TV nearby.
"Hello Everyone." A TV news anchor greeted. "This is Yuffie Kisaragi with BREAKING NEWS! 14 year old Hope Estheim suicide today, by jumping 5 stories from a Bodhum Hotel."
"What!" I exclaimed loudly. An hour had passed and they already made a broadcast about it?
The news then showed a picture of the Bodhum Hotel that Lightning lives in.
"You see?" Riku said as he turned the TV off. "You're all over the national headline news, Hope."
"Oh God..."
"Aw come on, Hope!" Sora exclaimed as he playfully placed his toned arms around my neck. "You can just tell them that you're alive! Problem solved!"
"But I can't!" I replied as I pushed Sora's arm away. "I just...need to start a new life..."
Sora and Riku gave me a weird look.
"So...are you saying that you want everyone to think you're dead...?" Riku asked in a soft voice.
I nodded my head yes.
"Are you outta your mind man!" Sora exclaimed loudly. "What about your parents? Your friends and family?"
"Those are the reasons why I want to start a new life!" I shouted back.
Riku and Sora stared at Kairi and then at me.
"So...you really want to do this?" Riku asked slowly, as if I'm retarded.
"Yeah...I guess..." I confessed as I slumped down on the couch. I must sound really stupid to these guys.
"Which is why we need your help!" Kairi exclaimed as she pointed at Riku and Sora.
"We need to change Hope's appearance! And name! Any suggestions?" Kairi asked.
Riku and Sora started to examined me, which made me feel very uncomfortable. I don't like the feeling when people are staring at me. It just freaks me out.
"Well for starters...Hope is a pretty lame name.." Sora joked as Kairi punched him on the arm. "Ow! Well I'm telling the truth!"
I sighed. I also got made fun of because of my stupid name. Hope...what a weird name for a guy.
"So what do you think my new name should be?" I asked Sora and Riku. Their names are pretty cool, so they should come up with something tough and manly.
"Hm...a name that's like 'PIZZAZZ' or a bland name?" Riku asked as he started to stroke his invisible goatee.
"Something bland, normal, some name that doesn't make me stand out from the crowd." I replied.
"Hm..what about Bob...yeah...Bob McCoolio.." Sora suggested as Kairi slapped him behind his head.
"Ow, quit hitting me Kairi!"Sora whined.
"This is serious!" Kairi snapped back.
"Well you think of something!"
"Hmm...what about Joe...like your average Joe?" Kairi suggested.
"Nah, that's too too average. Don't make him too bland." Riku disagreed.
"What about José? Or John?" Riku also suggested.
"Hm...not too bad...but I need a name that fits me.." I explained as the trio brainstormed even more.
"Harry Potter?"
"Nah..."
"Mike?"
"Nope, too many Mikes in Bodhum."
"Obama?"
"What?"
"Never mind..."
"It's no use..." Kairi sighed as she sat next me. "We can't think of a normal name that fits you.."
"Okay, think of a name that pops up in your head when you think of me." I suggested.
"Chuck Norris"
"Arnold Schwarzenegger"
"Jackie Chan"
"OBAMA!"
"SORA!" Kairi scolded.
"Sorry..."
"Ugh, she's right...why can't you have a cool unique name?" Riku recommended. "Something that makes you stand out a little bit, but not too much..."
"Ok.." I agreed. "What?"
"Like..."
"Max Power!" Sora exclaimed loudly.
"What!" Me, Kairi, and Riku asked surprisingly.
"What?" Sora asked as he placed his ipod on the coffee table beside them. "My ipod is on max power..."
"That's it!" Kairi squealed. "Your new name is...Max Power!"
"What!" I exclaimed. "Max...Power?" Am I really going to be named after an ipod significance?
"Hell yeah man!" Riku said coolly as he smacked me behind my back. "It's a sick name. It also suits you."
"Hmm.." I murmured as I examined myself from the mirror across the room.
"So...Can I really be Max Power?" I asked Riku and Kairi.
"Yeah Max!"Kairi agreed as she looked at my face. "But I don't think that Max should be your full first name. Maybe something cool like Maxwell or Maximus..."
"Hmm...Maximus Power...I like it.." I agreed.
Maximus Power, what a cool name...
"Alright then its settled!" Kairi exclaimed as she clapped her hands together. "You are now Max Power, a regular 15 year old teenage boy!"
"But...I'm only 14.." I confided. But Kairi and the others shook their heads at me.
"Trust me man..you do NOT wanna be a freshmen in our school." Riku grinned.
"There's these seniors called Organization XIII or something like that, and they go around torturing freshmen guys." Kairi added on.
"Yeah...beside, don't you want to be in our grade anyway?" Sora asked as he was playing with his ipod.
"Yeah...I guess..." I agreed.
"Okay, now that we already established your new name...it's time to change your appearance. First thing we need to change your hair, since it's a big give away." Kairi explained happily as she started to fiddle around with my hair.
"Yeah, only one guy in this town can handle gray hair, which is me!" Riku grinned as he pointed towards himself.
Hmm...that's true...
"So...you guys want me to like what, dye it?" I asked as the three nodded their heads.
"What color?" I continued to ask.
"Hmm...blonde or brown?" Kairi asked the two boys as she pulled out two hair dyes from behind. Why the hell does she carry hair dye with her?
"Definitely not brown, because hello? I'm the brunette here!" Sora joked as he showed off his hair to everyone.
"Yeah, but too bad it doesn't look good on you." Riku retorted back as he slapped Sora behind the head.
"Ow!"
"Okay...then blonde it is!" Kairi confirmed as she dragged me upstairs.
"Ah! Where are you taking me?" I cried as Kairi dragged me upstairs.
"I'm going to give you a new makeover!" Kairi explained as she pushed me inside a shower.
"What the-"
"PSSSSSSS" A rush of cold water came out from the shower head, soaking me and my clothes.
"Argh! Kairi! My clothes!" I screamed as I tried to escape from the shower. But Kairi locked it, so now I'm trapped.
"K-K-K-KAIRI!" I continued to scream. "LET ME GO!"
This reminded me of Snow, when he locked me outside from the house during a thunderstorm. Let's just say that mother nature hates me.
"Oh come on Hope, let me just dye your hair, okay?" Kairi asked in a sweet voice as she started to squirt hair dye on me.
"AH! This isn't how you dye hair!" I screamed as Kairi continued to squirt blonde hair dye at me. "Ah! It's in my eyes!"
"Hold still!"
"Ahh! I'm blind! I'm like Helen Keller!"
"Helen Keller is also deaf you idiot."
"Well if I keep hearing your voice, then I'm gonna!"
"Hey!"
"What in the world is going on!" Riku and Sora asked as they barged in the bathroom.
"Oh my god, Kairi, what the hell are you doing?" Riku screamed as he grabbed the hair dye from Kairi.
"That's not how you put on hair dye!" Sora shouted as he unlocked the shower door.
"Ahh!" I panted as I grabbed a towel nearby and wiped all of the hair dye away from my hair and face.
"Aw...my clothes!" I groaned as I stared at my stained shirt and pants.
"Aw, don't worry Hope, we'll buy you some new clothes." Riku assured as he handed me another towel.
"And hey! Look at your hair! It's actually blonde!" Sora exclaimed as he examined me.
I looked at the foggy mirror beside me and saw myself with dirty blonde hair. Hm...blonde hair...It doesn't look too bad...I actually look pretty nice...
"Well what do you know, guess my brilliant work here is done!" Kairi said in a proud voice with her arms crossed.
Yeah...Brilliant work..
"Okay Hope, let's go to the mall."
"Wait!" Kairi halted me, Riku, and Sora as she grabbed a comb and started to roughly comb my hair.
"Ahh! Ow!"
"Here let me add some gel!"Kairi said as she poured half of the gel bottle on my hair.
"What the! Stop!"
But Kairi ignored my whining and continued to comb my hair roughly.
"And finished!"Kairi announced as she threw the comb and bottle of gel away. "Ta-Da!"
"Ow...What did you do?" I asked Kairi and I looked at myself in the foggy mirror.
"I combed it and styled it!"
"Huh?"
I wiped the fog off on the mirror and couldn't even recognize myself. I no longer have long, Tidus-like, gray hair, but dirty blonde spiky hair. (He looks like Roxas from Kingdom Hearts)
"How did you..What...huh?" I was speechless. How did Kairi learned to style hair like this in a minute? She must be some hair salon prodigy...ignoring the hair dying technique she uses.
"Whoa...look at Mr. Blondie over here!" Sora grinned as he took a picture of me with his camera phone.
"Hey!" I screamed as the flash went off. "Why are you taking a picture of me?"
"For Facebook, duh!" Riku explained as he grabbed the camera phone away from Sora.
"Nice pic! This is definitely gonna be your profile picture."
"Huh?"
Facebook? Hm...I never really thought of making myself a Facebook. I mean Cid, Fang, and Snow has their own. Or had.
"Ugh, enough about this Facebook crap! We're going shopping!" Kairi demanded as she pulled my hand.
"Ow! Easy with the grip Kairi!" I yelped as she let go my wrist. "I don't want to go shopping!"
"What...why?" Kairi asked, looking hurtful.
"I hate shopping! I mean I always had to go with Fang and it's TORTURE!"
"Ugh...okay...fine.." Kairi sighed. "But...you sure?"
"Positive!" I answered confidently.
"Yeah Kairi, no one wants to go shopping with you!" Sora agreed as he playfully placed his arm around my neck.
"But I'm shopping for Hope! He needs new clothes!" Kairi protested to Sora.
"Psh, Kairi you have good taste in clothing, you can do it by yourself." Riku added on.
Kairi sighed and left the house, slamming the front door.
"Phew, thank god she left! Now let's make you a Facebook Hope!" Sora cheered as he logged on into his laptop.
"Now, we already got you a profile picture, but that's not enough. You need at least 20 pictures of yourself." Riku said as he began to take pictures of me and him together.
"What...why?" I asked. At least 20 pictures?
"If you don't then you won't be cool." Sora explained as he began to make me a Facebook.
"Yeah you'll look like a loser if you only have one picture of yourself. That's the way it is in Bodhum society." Riku added on.
After an hour of pictures and adding friends on Facebook, Sora's cell phone began to ring.
"CALIFORNIA GURLS, WE'RE UNFORGETABLE, DIASY DUKES, BIKINI'S ON TOP. SUN-KISSED SKIN SO HOT WILL MELT YOUR POPSICLE. OOOOOH OH OOOOOH!" The phone ranged.
"California Gurls? Really?" Riku asked as Sora picked up his cell phone.
"Hey, it's a cool song Riku!" Sora retorted back.
Riku rolled his eyes and began to edit my Facebook profile.
"Okay, what are your interests?" He asked as he began to type some stuff down.
"Uh...I don't know..."
"Okay, you like football, lacrosse, and soccer!" Riku answered for me as he began to type them down.
"What? I don't play those sports!" I complained.
"Psh, Hope, you want the ladies to know that your athletic. If your athletic, your considered cool. Don't you want to popular, Max Power?" Riku asked.
I sighed. I do want to be popular, but lying me way through? Meh, who cares, you only live once.
"WHAT!" Sora screamed on his cell phone which startled me and Riku.
"What is it?" Me and Riku asked.
"Kairi is on the phone! She's saying that Lightning is coming over!" He explained as he continued to talk with Kairi who was also screaming on the phone.
"What!" I screamed. "Lightning! No!"
"What's wrong with Lightning?" Riku asked suspiciously. "Did something happen with you guys?"
"Well yeah! She thinks that I'm dead! Because I supposedly 'killed myself' on her complex!" I explained to Riku.
"Oh crap...well...I don't think she could recognize you. I mean your hair is different...but your clothes.."
"Hope, Kairi wants to talk to you!" Sora exclaimed as he shoved the phone towards my ear.
"Ah! Hello?"
"HOPE!" Kairi screamed.
"Ah! Don't scream Kairi!" I complained.
"Well this is an emergency! Lightning called me and told me that she's going to be at her parents beach house, which is where you're at!" Kairi explained.
"When?" I asked calmly.
"Any minute!"
"What!"
"I'm sorry Hope, I can't come home quick enough to give you your new clothes! Which by the way is going really well. Hey do you blue or green?" Kairi asked.
"Umm...green.."
"Right, it matches your eyes. Okay, I'll buy you a green shirt."
"KAIRI!" I shouted on the phone. "What should I do!"
"I don't know! See! You should've went to the mall with me! This wouldn't be a problem!" Kairi replied back.
"Ugh, just tell me what to do!" I demanded as we heard a car parking in the driveway.
"Shit! She's here! Kairi, She's here!" I panicked.
"Okay, hopefully she won't recognize you...aw who am I kidding, change into Riku clothes and get out! You still talk and act the same, so she'll obviously recognize you." Kairi instructed.
"Okay thanks Kairi!" I thanked as I hung up.
"Hope! Here!" Riku yelled as he tossed a shirt and pants at me. "I figured that you should change before we head out."
I quickly got out of my old clothes and disposed them in the trash can.
"Why are you throwing your old clothes away?" Sora asked as he took them out from the garbage can.
"Well if I leave them here then someone could find them and report it the PSICOM and arrest me!" I snapped back and I quickly put on Riku's clothes, which were large on me.
"Hm... a Bodhum Raiders shirt...wait a minute...that's mine!" Sora realized as we heard loud knocking at the front door.
"Sorry Sora, I don't have any clothing that could fit Hope, so I took yours. Anyway, go distract Lightning and stall for me and Hope." Riku instructed as he unlocked the back entrance.
"What? Aw, why can't I come with you guys?" Sora whined as we heard loud banging at the front door.
"UNLOCK THE DOOR!" Lightning demanded in a loud voice.
Yep, it's definitely Lightning at the door.
"Sorry Sora, but please stall her. Call us when she's gone, okay?" Riku said as we both headed to the backyard.
"Yes sir..." Sora replied in a whiney voice.
Me and Riku sprinted towards his car, which is a red Mustang. Damn, everyone here has a nice car!
"Okay, Kairi texted me and told us to meet her at the Diary Queen inside the mall." Riku explained as he started the car engines.
We could both hear Sora babbling to Lightning about something stupid as we passed them by from the drive way.
"-And that's how I found my pet dog Sparky." Sora grinned at Lightning, who looked very bored and annoyed.
"Um..Sora, who just left?" Lightning asked suspiciously as she stared at me and Riku.
"Hope, duck!" Riku whispered as I hastily ducked my head from the passenger window.
"Uhh...It's no one! It's all in your IMAGINATION!" Sora lied.
"Sora it was just Riku..." Lightning replied. "Now let me inside!"
"No! What's the password!" Sora screamed as he blocked the doorway.
"You annoying brat.." Lightning muttered underneath her breath as she pushed him away from the door.
"Phew..." I sighed in a relief. "Glad she didn't catch us!"
"Ay...Hope...this would be easier if you could just tell Lightning what happened..." Riku said as we headed towards the highway. "I thought Lightning is on your side..."
"Well...she is...but I...I just don't know if I should tell her. I mean I love her like an older sister but I don't want to face her or my family members again." I informed Riku.
"Hmm...you must hate your family Hope. Especially since you're doing this..."Riku supposed. "But I think the Lightning and her sister Serah would be relieved if they hear that your still alive."
I sighed. Riku is right, I should tell Lightning and Serah that I'm still alive. But I'm just gonna be more stress to them...I mean Fang and Lightning had a fist fight and trashed her house with Snow's ashes...I don't want them to suffer more because of me...since it's all my fault..
"Forget about what I just said." Riku apologized as he made a sharp left turn. "It's been a long day for you, so you should just rest until we get to the mall, okay?"
"Okay.."
I rested my head against the window and quickly fell asleep to the radio.
On the next chapter, I'm not sure what other characters that I could add to this story that I hadn't used yet, so tell me which characters that you want to see from any Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series.