A/N: Yes! I updated! No longer shall you lie awake at night wondering who this mystery character is. Here's a little flashback just in case you forgot:
"Kairi, you can open your eyes." said a voice. The voice was not Sora's, nor was it Aerith's. The voice was familiar, but Kairi had to open her eyes before she saw it to be...
And here we go!
Chapter 6: The Path of Darkness
"Sora . . . don't ever change."
--Kairi
"Riku!"
Indeed, Riku was standing before Kairi. He was now wearing a black blindfold as well as his cloak. He exuded an air of coldness that chilled Kairi to the bone. He was no longer light or dark, Kairi realized. He was justice.
Kairi was happy at first to see Riku, but when she saw that he was standing over Sora, his keyblade spattered with blood, her smile faded. "What happened to Sora?"
Riku shook his head. "I did what I had to do, Kairi. He was about to kill Leon." The coldness of his aura was also present in his voice, adding the weight of absolute finality to his every word.
"Sora's not..." Kairi couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence.
"I didn't kill him." Riku assured her. "He's only wounded. But he'll be out for a while."
Kairi looked down at Sora's unconscious form. The scowl was no longer on his face. He looked just like his old self--except for the large gash on his back. "What are we gonna do?" she asked.
"That's yet to be decided." said a second, falsetto voice that everyone present could easily recognize.
It was King Mickey Mouse.
"What are you doing here?" Kairi asked. She should have been more respectful to the king of Disney Castle, but at the moment, she didn't care. Only Sora really mattered to her now. He was in pain, both physically and emotionally. He needed her, but she was powerless to help him. It made Kairi a little cranky.
Mickey looked up at Kairi, his eyes filled with concern and understanding. "We came as soon as we found out about Anti-form's appearances. I'm sorry about what happened to Sora. I should have known Shin'en would do this, but I thought we could hide Anti-form from him. I'd forgotten just how powerful Shin'en really is. We should have been here."
Kairi turned toward Sora, but quickly looked away. She couldn't bear to see that enormous slash on his back. She forced herself to look at Mickey. "What are we gonna do?"
Mickey looked at Sora also. "He must be kept safe until Shin'en can be destroyed. That should get rid of the darkness he placed in Sora's heart."
"The castle dungeon is the safest place." Leon suggested. Leon was up on his feet now, having brushed off his fight with Sora and subsequent rescue by Riku. "I have the only keys."
"Sounds like as good a place as any." Riku concurred.
Kairi couldn't believe it. They were going to lock her Sora in a foul-smelling, rat-infested prison. She clenched her fists tightly in anger, but decided it best not to speak. The only words she could think of saying were the sort of words unbecoming for a Princess of Heart.
Riku seemed to notice this and placed his arm on her shoulder. "We're not trying to keep Sora in, we're trying to keep Shin'en out. It won't be long until we fix this whole mess, then you and Sora can be together again. I promise."
Kairi nodded. "Okay." she whispered.
"Riku and I will stay the night here." Mickey decided. "We should all stay the night here. That way, we can keep a constant watch on Sora." Mickey drew Riku closer and whispered into his ear, "And I think we should keep an eye on Kairi, too. That gash on Sora's back is nothing compared to the wound this experience is inflicting on her heart."
Riku nodded. Leon lifted Sora and began to move him to the dungeon. "Help him, Riku." Mickey told his apprentice. "I need to speak with Kairi alone."
Riku immediately went to help Leon. As soon as they had left the room, Mickey began walking up the stairs, and motioned for Kairi to follow him. Kairi fell into step beside the king, a curious expression on her face as she asked, "Why do you need to talk to me? And what did you tell Riku?"
Mickey shook his head. "What I told Riku doesn't matter. As for why I need to talk to you... I'm concerned about you."
"Why?" Kairi questioned.
"The burden you bear is heavier than any Princess of Heart before you has ever been forced to carry." Mickey explained. "How are you feeling?"
"As well as can be expected, considering my boyfriend just turned to the dark side and my fiancé escaped without a trace." Kairi answered. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Your Majesty... I'm not married to him, am I? The cleric did pronounce us, but I never--"
"No." Mickey told her. "Not yet. And I suppose you already know about the test."
"You're in on it too?" Kairi asked.
"Yup." Mickey nodded. "We all want you to be happy, Kairi. As a Princess of Heart, you deserve that. I promise that you and Sora will be together as soon as Shin'en is destroyed and Sora comes back to the light."
"If he comes back." Kairi said sadly.
"I know it must be hard." Mickey said in consolation. With a smile, he added, "We'll get the old Sora back. "
"I know you will." Kairi sighed.
"Come on. Let's find you a place to sleep. I don't think you'll be wanting to stay in your old room--too many memories."
"True." Kairi nodded.
Leon and Riku threw Sora into the nearest cell they could find. Leon was about to lock the cell, but Riku stopped him. "Don't bother." he said.
"What? You're just gonna leave the cell open?" Leon asked.
"If we lock it with any conventional lock, he could just unlock it again with his keyblade." Riku answered. "I have to place a different kind of lock on it."
"Be my guest." Leon snorted.
Riku placed his hand on the lock. The lock turned purple, with thin yellow stripes like electrical circuits. "There." Riku stated once this process was completed. "This seal can be opened from the outside, but not the inside. Sora can't escape unless one of us lets him out, which we won't until we find out how to help him."
"Big talk coming from someone who slashed me in the back."
Riku kept his back turned toward the cell. He could sense the world around him with perfect clarity despite his blindfold, and did not need to turn around to see that Sora was awake. "Sora," he said, "you turned to the dark side. I did what I had to do to save Leon. You're not a murderer, Sora."
"What's the matter, Riku?" Sora hissed. "Afraid to even look at me? Come on. Just turn around."
Riku complied and turned to face Sora. Sora let out a malicious laugh. "You're wearing the blindfold? I should've expected as much. You're a coward, Riku. First you sneak up on me from behind and slash me in the back, then you lock me in this cell. I bet you don't even remember how to fight anymore."
"I know what you're trying to do, Sora, and it won't work." Riku said flatly. "I'm not letting you out."
"Come on, Riku." Sora pleaded mockingly. "You were on the dark side once, too. You know you want to let me out and beat me in a fair fight."
"What I want doesn't matter." Riku said. His apprenticeship to Mickey had done wonders to clear his mind of any doubts and distractions. "What you need is what's really important right now. And the last thing you need is for me to give in to the darkness. That won't save you, and it won't help Kairi either. She loves you, Sora. You're breaking her heart every second you stay in darkness."
"Don't worry, I know exactly what to do with Kairi." Sora replied. "Fine. If you won't let me out then there's no reason for you to stay here. Just be sure to tell Kairi I'll be seeing her real soon."
Riku stormed out of the dungeon with the air of cold finality he exuded when he was angry. Leon could only follow him, reflecting on how powerful the boy had become, both physically and mentally. He shot a final look at Sora before exiting the dungeon.
Mickey closed the door of Kairi's new room. The poor girl had collapsed from exhaustion as soon as her head hit the pillow. Mickey turned around when he heard the voice of his apprentice.
"Your Majesty!"
Mickey placed a finger to his lips. "Shhh. Kairi's asleep."
"I'm sorry," Riku whispered, "but Sora's awake."
Mickey's eyes widened. "What did he say to you? The slightest detail could be important."
Riku recounted his conversation with Sora in its entirety. At the end, he took a deep breath and stated, "And then he said, 'If you won't let me out then there's no reason for you to stay here. Just be sure to tell Kairi I'll be seeing her real soon.' That's when I came to find you."
Mickey was silent for a moment, absorbing the information. "You're sure of what you smelled down there?" he asked at last.
"There was no mistaking it." Riku answered sadly. "Sora's heart has completely surrendered to darkness."
Mickey stared at the ground for a moment, then lifted his head with an expression of determination. "Then there's no time to waste. I want you to stand guard here, Riku. I have to make a run to Disney Castle. Do not let Kairi out until I get back, no matter what she says."
"But why, Your Majesty?" Riku asked.
Mickey shook his head. "There's no time to explain. Just do not let Kairi out. Understand?"
Riku nodded. "I understand." He opened a corridor of darkness that led to Disney Castle. Mickey ran inside without another word. Riku pulled up a chair and sat down by the door. This promised to be a very long night.
Midnight. Kairi awoke in the middle of the night with an unexplainable urge to get to the dungeon as soon as possible. She had no idea why, but there was one thing she did know.
She had to get to Sora.
Kairi slowly crept out of bed, her bare feet making no noise against the carpeted floor. She tried to open the bedroom door to discover it locked. Why would it be locked? Why were they trying to keep her prisoner here, when she should clearly be with Sora?
After she had struggled with the knob for a few minutes, she heard Riku's voice on the other side of the door. "It's no use, Kairi. The king wants you to stay in there until he gets back."
"Why?" she asked, sounding just a little frustrated. She had to get to Sora. She didn't even know why she was so desperate to find him, but she didn't care. The thought of reaching him consumed her mind, and she could think of nothing else.
"For your protection." Riku replied. "We're trying to protect you from Sora."
How dare he say such a thing? Protecting her from Sora? Sora was the very person she needed most. "Isn't he in the dungeon?" she asked. "I don't think he can get me from there." Because I'm coming to him. she added silently.
Riku sighed. "I don't know why the king wants you to stay in here, but I guarantee it's for a good reason. If you'd just stay in there tonight, everything would be better."
Kairi didn't care about King Mickey. All she cared about was finding Sora. She had to find him. She had to. She began to think of excuses to get Riku to open the door. "I really have to go to the bathroom!"
Riku sounded unsure. "What? You have to go now?"
"Uh-huh." Kairi affirmed. "Please! I'll come right back, I promise! I just really have to go!"
Riku caught the scent of darkness that indicated a lie in Kairi's voice, but he quickly shook it off. Princesses of Heart don't lie. He reluctantly opened the door. "All right. Better make it quick, though. If King Mickey finds out I let you out, he'll have my head."
"Thank you, Riku! I'll never forget this!" She pecked Riku on the cheek before running off to find Sora.
Sora sat in his cell with his eyes closed. He had been playing with his connection to Kairi's heart for the past several hours, trying to find a way to use it. At last, he discovered that by channeling his will through their bond, he could assert feelings into Kairi's heart. He had planted within her heart the desperate desire to come and find him. As they drew closer, their bond thickened. Once she came down and met him face to face, he should be able to pull her heartstrings to make her do just about anything he wanted.
Kairi rushed into the dungeon and did not stop until she reached Sora's cell. "Sora," she whispered softly.
Sora turned around. "Oh. Hey, Kairi. You shouldn't be down here, you know."
"I had to come and see you." Kairi replied. This was exactly the answer Sora wanted to hear.
Sora tried to reach his hand through the bars, but he felt a shocking sensation as soon as he did. Riku's accursed seal was still in effect, preventing Sora from reaching the outside.
Kairi reached her hand through the bars and grasped Sora's. "Kairi," Sora whispered, "I want to be with you so much. Please let me out."
Unfortunately, his words seemed to bring Kairi back to her senses. "No! No, I can't! You fell to the darkness! We have to keep you in there until we can save you!"
"Kairi," Sora argued, "didn't you ever think whether I wanted to be saved?"
Kairi didn't understand. "What?"
"Kairi," Sora said in a voice that was enchantingly soft, "I'm exactly the same. I'm just on a different side, that's all. Maybe it's the right side."
"No! It's not the right side!" Kairi shouted. "Darkness consumes people's hearts!"
"That's Mickey Mouse talking." Sora told her. His voice was still soft, almost as though he was singing Kairi a lullaby. "Use your brain, Kairi. Join me. We can rule the darkness together."
Kairi had to fight hard to resist Sora's charms. She knew what he was doing, but that didn't make matters any easier. "If you come back to us, we can fight the darkness together." she pleaded.
"What kind of a life is that, Kairi? I'll spend the rest of my life fighting Heartless, and I'll never get to see you. I can control the Heartless now! We'll never have to be apart again."
Never be apart again? Kairi's mouth opened, but words did not come out. She wanted to agree with everything Sora said, but her heart knew that Sora was wrong. She couldn't answer Sora, but at least she didn't give in.
Yet.
"Look at me, Kairi." Sora told the ambivalent Princess of Heart. Kairi could not resist. She looked into his deep blue eyes. They seemed twice as beautiful, twice as enticing as ever before. Kairi couldn't move. She could only listen to Sora's hypnotic voice as he told her, "You said so yourself: your heart belongs to me."
Kairi could no longer hear her heart whispering to her, telling her to do the right thing. She could only hear Sora's voice, she could only see his eyes, she could only feel her overwhelming love for him. It was true.
"My heart belongs to you." Kairi repeated in a hopeless tone. Instantly, it felt as though a great burden were lifted from her shoulders. It felt so good to agree with Sora, and it made so much sense that everything he said was true. She said the words again, feeling better about her decision as she did so. "My heart belongs to you."
"Yes, Kairi." Sora cooed. "You know I love you, and I'd never do anything to hurt you."
"You'd never do anything to hurt me." Kairi echoed.
"So just let me out." Sora pleaded. "Then we can rule the darkness together. No one will ever bother us again."
Sora's power over Kairi was now complete. She no longer acted as though she were in a trance, but that's exactly what she was (the more enchanted one is, the less one feels that one is enchanted at all). "Here." she whispered to Sora. "Let me see your keyblade."
Sora summoned the Darkheart keyblade. Kairi reached through the bars of Sora's cell and removed it. As a Princess of Heart, she could use a keyblade, but did not own one herself. She aimed the keyblade at the lock and released the seal.
Sora was free.
Kairi gave Sora his keyblade back. She ran into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Sora, take us away from this place!" she cried. "I'll go anywhere you want me to go. I want to rule the darkness with you! I love you!"
Sora caressed Kairi gently. "It's okay, Kairi. It's all over now. I'll take us somewhere where nobody, not even Mickey can find us. Then we can be together forever."
Kairi closed her eyes and lost herself in Sora's embrace. It was all she could do. She could think of nothing but Sora. She could hear the sound of a corridor of darkness being opened behind them, but she didn't care. She could feel Sora pulling her inside, but she didn't care. A little way off, she could hear someone--possibly Riku--screaming for them to stop.
But she didn't care.
Riku saw Kairi in Sora's arms and knew it was too late. He had been so stupid to let Kairi go like that! Of course Sora would manipulate her into coming to him! But now he was too late. "Stop!" he cried in vain. Kairi wasn't listening. Sora wasn't listening.
Nobody was listening.
Suddenly, the corridor of darkness closed, seemingly of its own accord, before Sora could take Kairi inside. "I believe someone told you to stop." said a high-pitched voice.
Riku looked behind him. King Mickey had returned! And Donald and Goofy were with him! "Your Majesty!" Riku exclaimed. "I'm sorry. I was weak."
Mickey raised a hand to silence him. "We'll discuss it later, Riku. Right now, Kairi is in danger of losing her heart to darkness."
Upon hearing this, Kairi clung even tighter to Sora. "The only thing I'm in danger of is losing Sora again." she said sharply.
"Kairi," Mickey entreated, "you have to listen to me. Sora is controlling your heart."
"Why would he have to control it?" Kairi asked, never letting Sora go. Sora continued to caress her back and shoulders tenderly, giving her the courage to stand up to even King Mickey. "It already belongs to him." she finished.
"It belongs to the man he was." Mickey told her. "Not the monster he's become."
Kairi's eyes widened a little as she heard this, breaking free of the spell for a moment, but Sora's powerful charms and the feel of his touch soon brought her under his control again. "You're the monster, Mickey!" she cried. "You're trying to keep us apart!"
"Kairi, you're not yourself!" Mickey shouted. "Do you even hear what you're saying? The real Kairi would never give in to the darkness."
"Sora!" Donald yelled, "Come back to the light!"
"Why should I?" Sora questioned, a sinister smile on his lips. Kairi's eyes were now closed and she was perfectly relaxed, having surrendered completely to Sora's control. "Darkness is so much more profitable than light. And more fun. Besides, look at how happy I've made Kairi."
"Let her go, Sora." Mickey told him sternly. "She can't be your puppet forever."
"Sure she can." Sora countered. "It was so easy to take control of her. Now she's mine, and there's not a thing you can do about it."
Mickey sighed and summoned his keyblade. "Yes there is, if you let it come to that. I'm giving you a choice, Sora. You can let Kairi go or we can take her from you."
"Get behind me, Kairi." Sora whispered into Kairi's ear. She complied without question. Sora's keyblade appeared in his hand. "Come on, Your Majesty." he said mockingly. "I beat four people at once without even breaking a sweat. What makes you think you're so special?"
"Let Kairi go or you'll find out the hard way." Mickey answered.
"Show me." Sora laughed before he lunged at the king.
Mickey leaped into the air and shunted Sora's blow aside. "Riku!" the king called. "Donald Goofy! Try to help Kairi! I'll hold Sora off!"
Riku nodded and rushed past the fight, with Donald and Goofy in tow. Kairi tried to back away from them, but met a wall after only a few steps. "No!" she shouted. "You won't take Sora from me again!"
Goofy approached her first. "But Kairi, we're not tryin' to take Sora away. We wanna bring him back to the light so you can be together."
"Yeah." Donald added. "We just wanna keep him locked up so he doesn't hurt anybody."
Kairi clenched her fists at the words 'locked up'. "Nice going, Donald." Riku snapped.
"I was just trying to help." Donald offered.
"Maybe it'd be best if you kept your beak shut." Riku told him. He turned back toward Kairi. "Kairi, listen to me."
Kairi backed into a corner and slumped to the ground. "No! I'm not listening to you! My heart belongs to Sora!"
Riku sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. With his free hand, he removed his blindfold and cast it to the ground. He raised Kairi's face to look into his compassionate aquamarine eyes. "I know it's hard, Kairi. I know what it's like to be lost to the darkness. But we have to be strong... for Sora."
Kairi didn't answer. The light in her heart was beginning to break through the shroud Sora had placed over it. Still, Riku could tell she was struggling. He looked in Sora's direction, and Kairi did the same. Sora was holding his own against King Mickey, but at least he wasn't winning. "See that guy fighting the king?" Riku said. "That's not Sora. Sora would never hurt his friends; you know that. He even refused to hurt me when I was consumed by darkness. We want the real Sora back. But we need your help."
Kairi was still staring at Sora. Riku noticed that the scent of darkness around her was waning, but it was still there. "What do you say, Kairi?" he asked. "Can you help us get the real Sora back? The Sora you really love?"
Riku placed his hand to Kairi's forehead and whispered something that seemed like gibberish to Donald and Goofy, who were watching intently. In truth, he was practicing a technique King Mickey had taught him a good while ago--he was speaking directly to Kairi's heart.
Kairi's eyelids drooped as though she were about to fall asleep. After another second, she jolted awake. She looked around for a few seconds, taking in everything that had happened. "Riku? Donald? Goofy?"
The trio nodded.
"I messed up, didn't I?" Kairi asked.
Riku shook his head. "No. Anyone in your position would've done the same thing."
"That still doesn't make it right." Kairi argued. "I'm sorry."
"Gawrsh, Kairi, you don't have to apologize to us." Goofy assured her. "We understand, don't we, Donald?"
"Yeah!" Donald quacked. "We're friends, remember? All for one and one for all!"
"And two for tea!" Goofy added, which made Kairi laugh. Riku smiled as well, knowing that laughter really was the best medicine for Kairi right now. Donald and Goofy should help a lot with that.
Sora didn't fail to notice what was happening. He aimed an attack at Mickey, which sent the king flying backward several feet. Before anyone could react, Sora opened a corridor of darkness and stepped inside. He was gone.
Mickey was not hurt, and immediately rushed to help Kairi. "Are you with us again, Kairi?" he asked.
Kairi nodded sadly. "Yes. But Sora... he's gone."
"Well, then." Riku said, standing up and helping Kairi to do the same. "We'll just have to go and find him."
"How are we gonna do that?" Kairi asked.
"We can take my Gummi ship." Mickey offered. "Launchpad is already waiting for us."
Donald's eyes widened. "Not Launchpad! I thought we agreed to let Chip and Dale fly the ship from now on!"
"They're on vacation." Mickey told the court magician.
"What's wrong?" Kairi asked. "Who's Launchpad?"
"He's the king's second-string pilot." Riku answered. "He's great to have in a dogfight, but that's about all he can do."
"That sounds promising." Kairi said sarcastically.
"We'll manage." Mickey told everyone. "Kairi, you go and prepare yourself. I don't think you want to save the worlds in your pajamas."
Kairi blushed as she realized what she was wearing. "What about you, Your Majesty?" she asked. "I don't think you wanna wait on me to get changed before we leave."
"There's something I have to do before we go." Mickey said solemnly. "Riku, Donald, Goofy... you fellas do whatever you want."
"Aww Mickey, do ya have to ask?" Goofy questioned with a raised eyebrow. "We're comin' too."
Mickey nodded in appreciation and led the trio up the stairs. Kairi followed until they reached her room. Once she was inside and out of earshot, Donald whispered, "Where are we going, Your Majesty?"
"When Sora fell into darkness, several of his friends were hurt." Mickey answered. "I want to see them before we leave."
When Mickey, Riku, Donald, and Goofy arrived at the medical wing of the castle, what they saw astonished them. Leon, Aerith, and Cloud were standing over the bloody and broken remains of Tifa, Yuffie, and Kuro. Yuffie's skull had been cracked in several places, and she was still unconscious. Tifa was barely alive, with an enormous hole in her stomach from where Sora had pinned her to the wall. Even so, Kuro was the worst.
Kuro's arms and legs were broken. His right hand had a small hole in the palm, obviously made by one of Anti-form's tentacles. Several shards of his shattered sunglasses were lodged in his brow. His chest sported a very large slash wound in the shape of an X, so deep that his ribs were visible. Both of his arms were covered in bite marks, some of his flesh torn away.
"How bad are they?" Riku asked.
"Yuffie should make it." Cloud answered. His right arm was in a sling, but he was perfectly fine otherwise. He glanced mournfully in Tifa's direction. She was to Cloud what Kairi was to Sora: his love and his light. "We don't know about the other two."
Mickey leaped up into the air and landed gracefully on the side of Tifa's bed. He summoned his keyblade and touched it to her wound. Instantly, the wound began to heal. "She should be all right now, I think." Mickey told Cloud. "She'll be in a lot of pain when she wakes up, but she'll live."
Cloud could only stare at the ground. "Thank you." was all he could say. Mickey spotted a single tear fall from the ex-SOLDIER's eye.
Mickey immediately leaped backwards and landed on the side of Kuro's bed. "There's not much I can do for him." he sighed. "I might be able to fix his hand and his chest, but no more."
"Every bit helps." Aerith told him. "Please try."
Mickey touched his keyblade to Kuro's enormous slash on his chest. It began to heal, but it still left an X-shaped scar. He also touched the blade to Kuro's hand, which slowly began to seal up. It still bore a very nasty-looking wound. "I'm sorry." he apologized, looking in Leon's direction. "My magic can only do so much."
"That's all right."
Mickey was surprised to hear Kuro's voice. He looked down to find the badly wounded soldier wide awake, with a large smile on his cracked lips. He was very weak, and his voice reflected this, but at least he was alive. "You're doing all you can. You all are." Kuro continued.
"You're a very brave man, doing what you did." Mickey told him.
Kuro chuckled. "Everyone in my line of work has to be tough. Still, Anti-form beat me up pretty good. Is Sora all right?"
Mickey didn't have the heart to tell Kuro that Sora had turned to the dark side. "He's not changing anymore." he answered, truthfully enough.
"I don't blame him for anything." Kuro said. "Can you tell him that for me?"
Mickey nodded. "I'll do that, Kuro."
Kuro smiled, but then his wounds got the better of him and he passed out. Mickey shook his head sadly before leaping to the floor. "Leon, Cloud, Aerith... we're going to find Sora. You stay here and look after the others."
"Will do." Leon confirmed.
"Is Kairi coming with you?" Aerith asked.
Mickey stared at the floor. "She wants to go, but I don't know if I should let her. She nearly lost her heart to darkness back there. Sora can use their bond to control her heart. There's no way she'll be safe if we bring her along."
"Let her go with you." Aerith told him. "She's the key to bringing Sora back to the light."
"What makes you so sure?" Mickey asked.
"I just know." Aerith replied. "You'd better get going now."
Mickey only sighed. He was very wise, but he admitted that he knew little about the heart. He only smiled and left the room, with Riku, Donald, and Goofy in tow.
Kairi met Mickey and the others in the castle foyer, fully dressed and carrying her purse, which was full of potions and ethers for the journey. Kairi knew that she was of little use without a keyblade, and was determined to be helpful in any way she could. "Are we ready to go?" she asked.
Mickey nodded. "Come on, fellas. Let's get a move on."
When the quintet reached the Radiant Garden Gummi hangar, they found an Invincible Lv. 10 class Gummi ship docked beside My Dinghy. It bore its name in red letters on the nose: Sunchaser.
Immediately, a very large and muscular duck wearing a pilot's uniform emerged from the ship. "Hey there, King Mickey! How is everybody?"
"We have a situation, Launchpad." Mickey told the large duck. "How soon can we take off?"
"I've got the ship primed and ready for takeoff right now." Launchpad answered.
"Great. Hop aboard, everybody." Mickey instructed the others. As they entered the vessel, Launchpad shook their hands one by one. "Hey there, Donald. Hi, Goofy. Hello, Riku. And hello--" Launchpad stopped as Kairi stepped aboard the vessel. "Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Kairi." Kairi answered, shaking Launchpad's hand.
"Launchpad McQuack's the name." Launchpad answered. "If it has wings, I can crash it. Pleasure to meet you, Kairi. The more the merrier, I always say."
Kairi smiled, despite her worry about Launchpad's mantra, "If it has wings, I can crash it." She decided that if Mickey had faith in him, she should as well. Still, she couldn't help but think that this ride would be nothing like the ones Sora used to take her on. Why couldn't he be there now?
Riku must have sensed this as Kairi strapped herself tightly into the seat beside him. "Don't worry," he assured her, "we're in an Invincible Lv. 10 class for a reason. Its hull is so durable, Launchpad hasn't found a way to really damage it yet."
Kairi didn't feel much better as Launchpad exclaimed, "Attention all passengers! This is your captain with a very important message: hang on to your tail feathers, because here we go!"
The thrusters in the back of the ship ignited and the Sunchaser rose into the air. All seemed to be going smoothly until the left wing of the Sunchaser accidentally bumped into the wall of the hangar on its way out. There was a very large tremor throughout the ship from the impact. "Sorry!" Launchpad exclaimed. "No harm done here!"
"Just shut up and drive, Launchpad!" Donald quacked angrily.
"And please try not to crash anymore." Riku added.
"Jeez, tough crowd." Launchpad sighed before the ship exited Radiant Garden's atmosphere and entered the colorful space that divided the worlds.
Sora emerged from the corridor of darkness to find himself in a completely white room. He remembered it as the Hall of Empty Melodies, where he had fought and defeated Xigbar three years before. Above, on the balcony overlooking the arena, stood Shin'en. "You really have a thing for looking down on people, don't you?" Sora asked, his keyblade in hand.
"I am up here for my own protection." Shin'en answered. "I would prefer not to lose any more fingers."
"You think a simple height difference would save you if I wanted to kill you?" With this, Sora launched himself into the air and landed neatly on his feet beside Shin'en. "Which I'm strongly considering, since you almost married Kairi."
"Kairi?" Shin'en repeated. "You can have the Princess of Heart. All I wanted was for her to turn to darkness. It doesn't matter who does it, so long as it gets done. Besides, her heart already belongs to you."
Sora raised an eyebrow. "What's in it for you?"
Shin'en smirked. "There's no fooling you, Sora. I was hoping you'd do something for me."
"Like what?" Sora asked.
"I believe you'll like it." Shin'en replied. "Especially if you're as dark as I believe you to be."
A/N: Ha ha ha ha! You were right on your third guess, Shire Folk. It was Riku! I hope I didn't disappoint. Also, as promised, this was the last chapter featuring Kairi as the damsel in distress. From here on out, she's a heroine in her own right.
I hope some of you recognized Launchpad McQuack from the Duck Tales TV series. I always liked him, and since he's just as much of a Disney character as Donald or Scrooge McDuck, I wanted to feature him.
Still, some questions remain: what are Shin'en's plans for Sora? Where will our heroes begin to search for him? Why am i asking you all these questions if I'm the author? Find out in Chapter 7!
