Chapter . . . . . . . . I lost count.
"Some welcome!" Riku muttered as he held the ice pack to his head, apparently that blow to the wall had given him a nice big lump as a souvenir. Jasmine giggled and looked back at Aladdin.
"As I tried to say, there something acting up in the Keyhole. I'm not sure what though." Everyone stared at her,
"The keyhole?" Kairi whispered, it was the same word she heard in the Deep Jungle. Aladdin nodded.
"Yep, it helps keep this world safe from evil monsters we call the heartless. Really freaky actually." He muttered. Kairi nodded her head.
"Why don't we take them too, if Sora sealed it, maybe his friends can tell us what's wrong with it." The princess suggested and Aladdin nodded.
'We're not his friends anymore, or at least I'm not. What kind of friend kills them?' Riku thought numbly.
~~~~~~~
"Wow, this is so beautiful." Kairi whispered as she touched the faint trace of a keyhole. The shape was only made by a small line of light, and very hard to see. Riku smiled.
'Were the keyholes acting up now that Sora was. . . . . .gone?' he wondered. He walked up to the keyhole and stood next to Kairi, but for the reason of comforting her, or the need of her to comfort him, he didn't know. Suddenly she stiffened.
"Riku, touch this." She whispered, her eyes were hollow. Riku frowned and gently placed a hand on the Keyhole. A flash of light flared into the whole area and engulfed them. Everything seemed the same but. . . . there was some weird guy with a staff standing on the platform behind Riku and Kairi. They spun around and Riku drew out his keyblade. Aladdin was in shock, walking up to Jafar he waved a hand in front of the sorcerer's face. Nothing. Then he turned and found himself, Sora, Donald and Goofy standing in the center.
"I remember this!" He yelled out. "This is when we fought Jafar, and after the fight we were dropped into a fire cavern below, we defeated Jafar and Sora locked the Keyhole." The scene vanished and everything was quiet. Riku turned back to Kairi, she was pale. Riku walked up and shook her yelling
"Kairi! Kairi!" She stared at him and pointed to something, he turned and froze. Sora was standing there, but he looked dazed. He couldn't stand straight, or even focus his eyes.
"Sora?" The silver youth stared and walked forward, he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and. . . . . . . . . . .it went right through! Startled Riku jumped back and the ghost form looked at them. He smiled lightly, then vanished. Silence followed when Riku suddenly yelled out
"What the HELL was that?!"
~~~~~~~
"Whatever that was, it was creepy." Aladdin muttered, they were back in his house. After that weird little scene, any trace of the keyhole had vanished and nothing was left, just an empty room.
"So what was that? A vision?" Jasmine wanted to know. Riku shook his head in answer.
"It was a memory, or something. That was the day we battled Jafar, we were trying to save you. As I recall you were unconscious at the time." Aladdin murmured to her. Jasmine nodded.
"I remember seeing the great pit, and how I was watching for you to return, then I heard a noise behind me and. . . . . . . the next thing I know is that I'm in a place called Hollow Bastion with 6 more girls." Riku blushed at this, he looked away and walked over to the great hole in the wall which led to the main street.
"Riku?" Kairi whispered to him. He shook his head and turned to her a grin on his face.
"Let's go!" She nodded, they thanked Aladdin and Jasmine for their help and left.
~~~~~~~
"So now where?" Kairi asked as she stared ahead, through the window. Riku sighed,
"We're skipping Monstro, I've been there already and I tell you, it's not exactly what you'd call a picnic."
"You say so." She said smiling. Riku looked at her with a grin and landed in Traverse town.
"Why are we back here?" Kairi asked him as she jumped out. He looked back at her.
"Cause, we need to rest a bit. So calm down." They walked to the second district and Riku sighed them up for a few rooms at the inn. He took the green room and she took the red.
"See you in the morning Kairi." She nodded and waved goodnight.
~~~~
"What did you want to tell me Riku?" Kairi asked him. He looked at her and gave a despaired look, she patted him on the shoulder to give him courage.
"It's about Sora."
"What about? Don't worry, we'll find him." She whispered, still smiling, and patting his shoulder.
"No, it's not that, Sora. . . . . he.. . . . . . . . he was one of us." He managed to mumble out.
"What?" She whispered shocked. He sighed.
"Sora, he came from the Destiny Islands, then when that storm struck, he was the one who went looking for you. He was the one that was worried, I was too caught up in it. Too caught up in my freedom to even think of you. . . . . . . ." He whispered. She stared.
"So that boy. . . . that boy with the spiky brown hair was-?" She never finished. He nodded,
"There's more. He. . . . . . he came to Hollow Bastion, trying to save you. But, I . . . . . . . I lost my mind and. . . . . . . . nearly killed him. I accused him of betrayal and not caring. After I nearly took his life, he left. I never saw him again until now." Silence now, nothing but small puffs of air.
"Kairi, I'm sorry. But. . . . . I'm the friend who betrayed Sora. The one who killed the fire that burned within him. I'm the one, who destroyed the friendship he wanted to save." Riku's eyes were now blurry. She was staring at him, then she removed her hand from his shoulder and stared at him with hate.
"I knew it." She hissed. He looked up at her in surprise.
"Don't you GET IT?!?!?!?" She demanded. He stared and began to back away.
"It's all YOUR fault! Everyone will pay, because of your mistake." She said scathingly, her voice so quiet it was deadly.
"You destroyed everything! You are the holder of RUIN!"
~~~~~~
Riku sat up with a start in the bed.
"A dream." He breathed quietly. Sighing in relief he pulled the covers off and went out onto the balcony. He stared at the scene before him, didn't this town EVER see daylight? Apparently not. He kept looking around until he saw a water system, it appeared to be broken, one of the gates was chipped away. Like something had smashed into it. He stared. Then looked at the clock in his room. 5:30am. He was up really early, he hated to leave Kairi alone, but he had to check something. He jumped off his balcony and landed on the paved road. He ran towards the water way and walked in. He was walking through darkness when suddenly he was unable to breath. He flailed around wildly and realized something.
He was UNDER water! Thinking quickly he held still for a moment and began to rise, knowing which way was up he kicked hard and broke to the surface. Still being pitch black he swam along the walls till he saw a flare of a torch. Riku climbed out dripping wet and brushed himself off. Seeing a weird sort of platform he walked onto it and felt it rise.
~~~~~~~
"This is weird." He muttered as he walked around the empty circular room, nothing but a bit of papers and a rusty old book on a bedside table. He walked up to the table and looked at the book, his jaw dropped.
"Sora?" He whispered, there was a picture of his friend there, holding the hand of some sort of stuffed teddy bear, and walking with a striped tiger. Riku slowly reached for the book with trembling fingers, and picked it up hastily. He slowly opened the book in careful movements and before he knew it, he was the size of a penny and walking on the surface of the book. Riku sighed, somehow he knew he'd stepped into trouble. Seeing many little spots, including an open field, a giant tree, and a muddy trail he decided to head for the meadow. Stepping into the field he saw only a log and a few flowers, he walked up to the log and sat down needing a breather before he continued. Suddenly he heard a word repeated over and over.
"Think, think, think." Riku turned in shock and accidentally flipped over with a *whoa*.
Looking up he saw the same bear he'd seen on the cover. He sat up and stared at the weird little stuffed teddy bear.
"Think, think, think" It repeated again. Riku stared at it some more before finally asking
"What are you thinking about?" 'As if it thought about much' Riku thought with an evil grin. The bear turned to Riku and said,
"I am thinking about how to say hello to myself. When you are always with you, you can never say goodbye, so how do you say hello to yourself again? Think, think, think." He continued to whack his head with his tiny paws and walked away.
"Okay. . . . . ." Riku muttered and watched the disappearing form. Suddenly he was on pages of the book again, he saw a small circle which was glowing silver, standing on it he found himself back in the empty room full of discarded papers. He grinned and ran off towards the inn saying aloud.
"I gotta show this to Kairi."
Disclaimer: LAY OFF!!!!!!!!
Starlet: I think I'm losing my touch. . . . oh well. Buh bye fur now!
"Some welcome!" Riku muttered as he held the ice pack to his head, apparently that blow to the wall had given him a nice big lump as a souvenir. Jasmine giggled and looked back at Aladdin.
"As I tried to say, there something acting up in the Keyhole. I'm not sure what though." Everyone stared at her,
"The keyhole?" Kairi whispered, it was the same word she heard in the Deep Jungle. Aladdin nodded.
"Yep, it helps keep this world safe from evil monsters we call the heartless. Really freaky actually." He muttered. Kairi nodded her head.
"Why don't we take them too, if Sora sealed it, maybe his friends can tell us what's wrong with it." The princess suggested and Aladdin nodded.
'We're not his friends anymore, or at least I'm not. What kind of friend kills them?' Riku thought numbly.
~~~~~~~
"Wow, this is so beautiful." Kairi whispered as she touched the faint trace of a keyhole. The shape was only made by a small line of light, and very hard to see. Riku smiled.
'Were the keyholes acting up now that Sora was. . . . . .gone?' he wondered. He walked up to the keyhole and stood next to Kairi, but for the reason of comforting her, or the need of her to comfort him, he didn't know. Suddenly she stiffened.
"Riku, touch this." She whispered, her eyes were hollow. Riku frowned and gently placed a hand on the Keyhole. A flash of light flared into the whole area and engulfed them. Everything seemed the same but. . . . there was some weird guy with a staff standing on the platform behind Riku and Kairi. They spun around and Riku drew out his keyblade. Aladdin was in shock, walking up to Jafar he waved a hand in front of the sorcerer's face. Nothing. Then he turned and found himself, Sora, Donald and Goofy standing in the center.
"I remember this!" He yelled out. "This is when we fought Jafar, and after the fight we were dropped into a fire cavern below, we defeated Jafar and Sora locked the Keyhole." The scene vanished and everything was quiet. Riku turned back to Kairi, she was pale. Riku walked up and shook her yelling
"Kairi! Kairi!" She stared at him and pointed to something, he turned and froze. Sora was standing there, but he looked dazed. He couldn't stand straight, or even focus his eyes.
"Sora?" The silver youth stared and walked forward, he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and. . . . . . . . . . .it went right through! Startled Riku jumped back and the ghost form looked at them. He smiled lightly, then vanished. Silence followed when Riku suddenly yelled out
"What the HELL was that?!"
~~~~~~~
"Whatever that was, it was creepy." Aladdin muttered, they were back in his house. After that weird little scene, any trace of the keyhole had vanished and nothing was left, just an empty room.
"So what was that? A vision?" Jasmine wanted to know. Riku shook his head in answer.
"It was a memory, or something. That was the day we battled Jafar, we were trying to save you. As I recall you were unconscious at the time." Aladdin murmured to her. Jasmine nodded.
"I remember seeing the great pit, and how I was watching for you to return, then I heard a noise behind me and. . . . . . . the next thing I know is that I'm in a place called Hollow Bastion with 6 more girls." Riku blushed at this, he looked away and walked over to the great hole in the wall which led to the main street.
"Riku?" Kairi whispered to him. He shook his head and turned to her a grin on his face.
"Let's go!" She nodded, they thanked Aladdin and Jasmine for their help and left.
~~~~~~~
"So now where?" Kairi asked as she stared ahead, through the window. Riku sighed,
"We're skipping Monstro, I've been there already and I tell you, it's not exactly what you'd call a picnic."
"You say so." She said smiling. Riku looked at her with a grin and landed in Traverse town.
"Why are we back here?" Kairi asked him as she jumped out. He looked back at her.
"Cause, we need to rest a bit. So calm down." They walked to the second district and Riku sighed them up for a few rooms at the inn. He took the green room and she took the red.
"See you in the morning Kairi." She nodded and waved goodnight.
~~~~
"What did you want to tell me Riku?" Kairi asked him. He looked at her and gave a despaired look, she patted him on the shoulder to give him courage.
"It's about Sora."
"What about? Don't worry, we'll find him." She whispered, still smiling, and patting his shoulder.
"No, it's not that, Sora. . . . . he.. . . . . . . . he was one of us." He managed to mumble out.
"What?" She whispered shocked. He sighed.
"Sora, he came from the Destiny Islands, then when that storm struck, he was the one who went looking for you. He was the one that was worried, I was too caught up in it. Too caught up in my freedom to even think of you. . . . . . . ." He whispered. She stared.
"So that boy. . . . that boy with the spiky brown hair was-?" She never finished. He nodded,
"There's more. He. . . . . . he came to Hollow Bastion, trying to save you. But, I . . . . . . . I lost my mind and. . . . . . . . nearly killed him. I accused him of betrayal and not caring. After I nearly took his life, he left. I never saw him again until now." Silence now, nothing but small puffs of air.
"Kairi, I'm sorry. But. . . . . I'm the friend who betrayed Sora. The one who killed the fire that burned within him. I'm the one, who destroyed the friendship he wanted to save." Riku's eyes were now blurry. She was staring at him, then she removed her hand from his shoulder and stared at him with hate.
"I knew it." She hissed. He looked up at her in surprise.
"Don't you GET IT?!?!?!?" She demanded. He stared and began to back away.
"It's all YOUR fault! Everyone will pay, because of your mistake." She said scathingly, her voice so quiet it was deadly.
"You destroyed everything! You are the holder of RUIN!"
~~~~~~
Riku sat up with a start in the bed.
"A dream." He breathed quietly. Sighing in relief he pulled the covers off and went out onto the balcony. He stared at the scene before him, didn't this town EVER see daylight? Apparently not. He kept looking around until he saw a water system, it appeared to be broken, one of the gates was chipped away. Like something had smashed into it. He stared. Then looked at the clock in his room. 5:30am. He was up really early, he hated to leave Kairi alone, but he had to check something. He jumped off his balcony and landed on the paved road. He ran towards the water way and walked in. He was walking through darkness when suddenly he was unable to breath. He flailed around wildly and realized something.
He was UNDER water! Thinking quickly he held still for a moment and began to rise, knowing which way was up he kicked hard and broke to the surface. Still being pitch black he swam along the walls till he saw a flare of a torch. Riku climbed out dripping wet and brushed himself off. Seeing a weird sort of platform he walked onto it and felt it rise.
~~~~~~~
"This is weird." He muttered as he walked around the empty circular room, nothing but a bit of papers and a rusty old book on a bedside table. He walked up to the table and looked at the book, his jaw dropped.
"Sora?" He whispered, there was a picture of his friend there, holding the hand of some sort of stuffed teddy bear, and walking with a striped tiger. Riku slowly reached for the book with trembling fingers, and picked it up hastily. He slowly opened the book in careful movements and before he knew it, he was the size of a penny and walking on the surface of the book. Riku sighed, somehow he knew he'd stepped into trouble. Seeing many little spots, including an open field, a giant tree, and a muddy trail he decided to head for the meadow. Stepping into the field he saw only a log and a few flowers, he walked up to the log and sat down needing a breather before he continued. Suddenly he heard a word repeated over and over.
"Think, think, think." Riku turned in shock and accidentally flipped over with a *whoa*.
Looking up he saw the same bear he'd seen on the cover. He sat up and stared at the weird little stuffed teddy bear.
"Think, think, think" It repeated again. Riku stared at it some more before finally asking
"What are you thinking about?" 'As if it thought about much' Riku thought with an evil grin. The bear turned to Riku and said,
"I am thinking about how to say hello to myself. When you are always with you, you can never say goodbye, so how do you say hello to yourself again? Think, think, think." He continued to whack his head with his tiny paws and walked away.
"Okay. . . . . ." Riku muttered and watched the disappearing form. Suddenly he was on pages of the book again, he saw a small circle which was glowing silver, standing on it he found himself back in the empty room full of discarded papers. He grinned and ran off towards the inn saying aloud.
"I gotta show this to Kairi."
Disclaimer: LAY OFF!!!!!!!!
Starlet: I think I'm losing my touch. . . . oh well. Buh bye fur now!
