*Kingdom Hearts and related characters belongs to Square Enix and Disney, not me, etc. Please rate and review!*
-Part 7: Temporary Decisions
"She's gone!" Wave rushed into the main room the next morning.
DiZ was still there, programming something on his tablet. Next to him, Riku was passed out, snoring, on some blueprints; bolts and various mechanical odds and ends by his head.
At Wave's yell, Riku jerked awake, his right hand jerking out and nearly knocking over his cold coffee cup.
Rubbing his eyes with one arm, Riku grabbed a mug and lifted it to his lips to drink; a collection of pens, pencils, and styluses fell out onto him. Spluttering, he opened his eyes, glaring at the now-empty mug.
DiZ waved a hand, not looking over. "By the way, I moved your mug."
"Yeah, thanks for telling me," Riku muttered.
Quorra came in, looking sleepy. "Whassat?"
"I was... working on something." DiZ swept the bits off the table into his robes.
"Oh." Quorra rubbed her eyes. "Then what's all the yelling?"
"Sorry to interrupt your incredibly important discussion, but Kairi's gone." Wave folded her arms.
"Ohhh... You're yelling." Quorra was looking a lot more awake now.
Wave turned on Riku. "This is all your fault!"
Riku looked bemused. "What did I do?"
"Oh you know," Wave hissed.
"Actually, I believe I am to blame."
Everyone except DiZ turned around to see a man dressed in a black hooded cloak.
Quorra paled slightly. "You..."
Wave was less apologetic. "Hey, I don't care who you think you are—"
"I'm your only lead," he interrupted smoothly.
"I let Kairi go because I don't agree with your tactics, Wave. I've only worked with you, disaster after disaster, because we have common goals. I remind you, we have a time limit and it's rapidly approaching. We need to be finished by then."
"You said we'd be fine if we were on the Grid," Wave accused.
The man turned away, looking out the window. "We have bought ourselves time, nothing more. Nor can he stay like that forever. Outside or on the Grid, soon he will be of no help to you, or anyone else."
"Is that all?" DiZ asked, disinterested. "If you are done with your melodrama, I think we would like know where Kairi is."
"I sent her to Zuse. She will have to use her own ingenuity to escape the system, but Zuse will point her in the right direction."
Quorra and Wave stared at him in shock.
DiZ slammed his tablet down on the table. "Our spy in the Organization has been quiet for far too long and you choose now/b to play games, Ansem? You may need to rethink your priorities if you plan to keep working with us."
The hooded man, Ansem, gestured lazily. "You say that as if you have a choice to work with me. I/b choose who I work with. I could just take it and finish the job myself."
Wave bristled. "I'd like to see you try!"
"Don't fight. It's unbecoming." Quorra walked to the window. "We need to work together if we're going to free the Grid."
DiZ stared at the back of Quorra's head. "Quorra, I need you to make a back-up of all the systems."
"Huh." Kairi stepped off of her light cycle. She had found it on her bed when she had gone back inside, along with a katana baton: a baton that extended into a energy sword, and a clean jumpsuit. Clearly, they had not expected her to run.
Kairi was in a part of town she supposed would be the night life of the city. All around her, clubs' signs brightened the ever-present gloom and pounding music spilled out from doors.
She had to leave the light cycle there; she had no idea how to make it return to baton shape. Kairi regretted it, but she had little choice. Already, passers-by had begun to comment on her hair and vitality.
"A user," someone hissed.
"I heard of her," another whispered.
"Wasn't she in the games?" a third commented.
Uncomfortable, Kairi raised her helmet. It stopped the comments on her hair and skin, but the programs still stared at her.
"Hey, are you lost?" a woman's voice asked.
Kairi turned to see the white woman from the games.
"No," Kairi replied, "I'm looking for Zuse."
"A dangerous proposition that. What would a little one like you want with him?"
Kairi retracted her helmet. "I want to get to the portal. Unseen."
The woman looked at Kairi closely. "You're the one from the games, aren't you? The one they call a user." She paused. "Very well. I'll help you. Follow me."
She led Kairi to a club, white walls gleaming and floor commanded by a man in a white suit, his white hair slicked back.
Laughing, he caught sight of them and, while gesturing them over, came to meet them. "Ah, Gem! And who is this lovely young lady?"
"Kairi, this is Castor. He runs this club."
"And it's such a pleasure to meet you." Castor took Kairi's hand and bowed over it. "Now, what may I do for you?"
"She wants to see Zuse." Gem lowered her voice. "She's that user."
"I see…" Castor's brow furrowed, then he smiled at Kairi. "Follow me please, Kairi."
Shadowed closely behind by Gem, Kairi trailed after Castor as he made his meandering way around the club's dance floor, greeting various patrons as he did so. Quite a few of them asked to see Zuse, but Castor waved them off.
Stopping at the stairs, Castor called out to the twin DJs: pounding electro-dance music began to play, masking all other sounds.
Castor stepped out and motioned for his guests to follow him. The door sealed behind him and the music quieted.
"Please, have a seat; anywhere you like." Gesturing around, he sat on a couch and, hesitantly, Kairi sat across from him.
"Now, my dear, I hear you're quite the special little girl: Clu's hunting everywhere for you." Castor tapped his lips with a finger. "Why would that be…?"
"I'm not sure why, myself." Kairi decided to omit the part about being kidnapped by the resistance, and skip straight to her request. "Castor, a... someone told me that Zuse would be able to help me. I need to speak with him and she," Kairi nodded to Gem, "she said you know where he is."
Castor leaned back and opened his arms. "I'm all ears. Tell me how Zuse can help you."
Kairi was hesitant to trust this strange man; she already felt she had gone too far by trusting Gem. "Show me proof Zuse will get my message."
"I am Zuse, girl" Castor stood and walked to the window. "Because of Clu's purge, anyone he felt could be sympathetic to the Keyblade wielders was in danger. I did my part, so I made sure I could settle down and retire in peace as Castor."
"Retire in peace?" Kairi's eyebrow went up.
Castor turned and grinned. "Well, maybe not retire in peace exactly…"
"Fine, Zuse," Kairi stressed his name. "I need to reach the portal without getting caught."
"Hmm…." Castor seemed to think about that. "That shouldn't be too hard, but it will cost you something…"
His musings were interrupted by the sound of shattering glass. Kairi stood; Castor and Gem, still standing, were faster.
The door opened onto chaos. Programs dived behind tables and seats; some brave ones tried to attack, but they were knocked back.
The large glass window that looked out over the city lay on the floor in pieces. A man stood in the centre of the room, flanked by Rinzler and a guard on one side and two grey creatures on the other.
The grey creatures moved with a ghastly boneless grace and they were disturbingly human-like, except for the zippers where their mouths should be and their wedge shaped heads, which were topped with a strange crest. The man wore a by-now-familiar black hooded cloak, its deep hood shading his face.
"Ah, Kairi!" he called out, mock-cheerfully. "We've been looking for you. If you hand over the keyblade hero, the memories you've collected and come with me, we'll be on our way. No need for anyone to get hurt, right?" He clicked his tongue and a gun/crossbow-like weapon materialized in his hand. Moving swiftly, he wrapped his arm around his guard's neck and held the gun to the program's head, one finger on the trigger.
"Just so you know I'm serious." Dropping the guard, he spun his other hand and, with the twin to the gun he held in his right hand, he shot at Kairi's head.
Kairi flinched, but the bolt slammed into the wall above her head and dissipated harmlessly. Gem and Castor edged away from her.
"Don't worry: I won't hurt you. I need you in one piece right now."
"Hey, if you didn't want me to leave, you could have just told me, instead of giving me the disc and letting me run," Kairi said, trying to control her fear. "Just which one are you anyway? Not Quorra or Wave."
He shrugged, making his hood fall back.
"As if, princess. Here's a hint: I'm one of the bad guys."
He had a smirking tanned face. One of his gold eyes was covered with a black eye patch, and a jagged burn scar ran up his cheek; his grey-highlighted black hair was tied back in a long ponytail.
He pointed at Kairi with his Arrowgun. "Dusks, fetch."
The twin grey creatures rushed at her and Kairi stumbled back, landing with an undignified thump.
The man seemed vaguely disappointed. "I thought this would be harder. I'm surprised you got this far, princess."
Kairi tried to scramble away, but the Dusks grabbed her arms and dragged her over, dumping her, face-first, on the floor in front of the man.
He grasped her chin and, lifting her head, made her look at him. "Let's do this again. Hello, Princess Kairi. I'm Xigbar, second member of Organization XIII. Give us what we're looking for and we'll leave you be."
Kairi glared at him. "I don't know what you're looking for and I don't have it."
"Drop her!" A booted foot connected with the back of Xigbar's head with an audible crack. He fell forward and then used the momentum to roll, standing again on the other side of Kairi, swaying slightly on his feet.
"Oh look. Your little friends are here to save you." Xigbar cocked both of his Arrowguns, and Kairi looked to see what he was talking about.
Wave stood in the entrance way, her twin silver katana blazing as she cut down the two Dusks. Riku landed next to Kairi, a similar katana to Wave's held in his hand. It shone brown in the light and Kairi realized it was made of polished wood, designed to stun or break bones, not destroy.
"Give it up, Xigbar! You know we won't give you what you are looking for!" Riku raised his sword hand above his head in a stance that was achingly familiar to Kairi.
"Catch!" Wave called. Something black spun through the air and clattered to the ground next to Kairi.
Grabbing it, Kairi scrambled to her feet; a silver energy katana blazed to life in her hands.
Rinzler threw his disc at her, almost lazily and she barely deflected it, the impact sending her staggering back. Xigbar looked over at Rinzler and Rinzler shrugged, stepping back and gesturing for the guard program to step back as well.
Riku grabbed Kairi and pulled her away, slashing at the Dusks with his other hand. "Hurry, I can't hold them off for long."
His wooden katana had little to no effect on his attackers; indeed, Xigbar seemed to find it amusing, his smirk widening. "Go on; chase us with your wooden plaything, boy."
Xigbar snapped his fingers, and two more grey creatures, these ones much larger than the Dusks and armed with hefty crossbows, appeared at his side.
Wave ran forward, her single katana held in a defensive stance. "Snipers! Go; I'll cover your backs."
Riku pushed Kairi back behind him. "Are you sure? You don't have a—"
"I know!" she snapped. "Just get going!" A Dusk lunged at her, and Wave deflected it with her blade, shooting out her foot to kick it across the room. A program ducked to avoid it; Castor looked impressed.
Riku turned back and leaped into the lift; Kairi jumped in after him.
Looking back, Wave saw they were safe. Spinning her blade to hold off the Snipers' shots, she half-turned to join them and a Dusk on the floor reached for her feet.
Wave stumbled and half-fell, half-dove into the lift.
Something, jarred loose, clattered to the ground.
Xigbar smiled, and reaching down, picked Wave's identity disc off the ground.
Riku lunged for the door, but it was too late. The second member of Organization XIII vanished into a dark corridor, and the lift closed on the End of Line club.
Kairi silently passed back Wave's katana and Wave took it without comment, her face tight.
"When can I see them?" a young man demanded. He appeared to be about Kairi's age, his short hair black, but clearly dyed, the roots growing in a light brown, almost honey color.
The man he was addressing, an imposing man with long blue hair and gold eyes, simply shook his head. "You can see your… friends… later."
"I did what you asked! I stole the paper and brought it to Xigbar in Hollow Bastion; now let me talk to them!" The younger man grasped the bars of his cell, the blue haired recipient of his tirade just outside of his reach.
"I don't know what you've done: the memory previously contained here is gone. Even if it were still here, I can already tell we could not use it. The memory was tainted. We can't use it. The only thing we could do with it is keep it out of their hands."
The younger man smirked a little. "Your own plan came back to bite you, did it? Regret what you did now?"
The blue haired man didn't smile. "You seem to forget. We get what we want, Roxas.
"One way or another."
"Xigbar. Contact Clu. Tell him, I need the files." The Superior's voice was always unemotional, but oddly warm… as if he were smiling at something only he understood.
The video link was being relayed through the output on the Grid and uplinked by Hollow Bastion's computer to the main computer at the Castle. Frustratingly, the data on the disc was much too large to be transmitted in such a way.
Because of the method of transmission, the video was distorted with visible scan lines and static, but still, Xigbar didn't understand the Superior's order. He couldn't have misheard, could he? "But, sir, I have—"
"Don't question me. I need the backup files I hid on the servers." He shut off the video link with the same abruptness as his order.
Xigbar began to wonder if something else was going on here. Was the Superior's memory returning after all these years? Though he had entertained doubts for many years about his leader's sanity, this latest evidence made Xigbar uneasy.