Chapter 10: Catastrophe
Six months passed and Okari and Ienzo had scheduled their wedding for the tenth anniversary from when they first met. That was only a month away. Of course, they would have it at the chapel. Hemera took the liberty of planning the whole wedding and she was very excited about it.
One day, Okari was on duty when a small figure stumbled up to her. She looked down and saw red hair and luminous blue eyes glancing up at her. The small princess grinned and hugged Okari's legs.
"Princess Kairi, you're walking so well! Where's your mommy?" she asked. Kairi was almost four now. She turned around and faced someone down the hall: Hemera.
"Mommy!" she screamed. She waddled over to her mother, who hoisted her up into her arms.
"You wandered away again. You're walking so fast, little Kairi!" Hemera said. Kairi giggled, snuggling against Hemera's shoulder.
That night, Okari returned home late. She saw Ienzo at work over papers. Okari heaved a great sigh. Ienzo had been busy researching for a week, eating and sleeping little or not at all. He looked so tense, and lack of food or rest was taking its toll. Although he was still the man she loved so dearly, he was changing in other ways. His deep blue eyes now had dark circles around them and his young face was lined with fatigue. He had lost weight and was considerably bonier. Okari, trying to lighten the mood, leaned over the figure in the chair and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
"Hello," she greeted into his ear.
"What?" he answered curtly. Little rest had also made him more irritable.
"I'm just saying hello. I came home late, you know?"
"You did?" He blinked heavy eyelids and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Huh."
Okari peeked at the piles of papers stacked on the desk.
"Why are you working so hard anyway? I thought Ansem was taking a break from research again," she said.
"This is not work for Ansem the Wise. It is for Xehanort," he corrected.
Okari frowned at his name. "What are you studying anyway?" She peeked at one of the papers. "Darkness of the heart…Heartless…opens the door to darkness… This all seems pretty morbid to me," she said.
"Stop, Okari!" he yelled, removing her arms from around his shoulders. "I'm busy and completing this is very important, so why can't you leave me in peace?"
Okari backed away from him and slumped onto the couch, frowning into the back of his head, eyebrows creasing in worry.
"I love you," she whispered, more like a reminder.
Ienzo sighed and looked over his shoulder at her. "I love you, too."
"Can you tell me what's so important about this, then?" she asked.
"Okari, Xehanort is a fine scientist, the finest of us all. He's very intelligent and resourceful. Xehanort has come up with theories that could open up new doors. Okari, if I get this work done tonight, something amazing might happen tomorrow. He has found a way to make a better future for all of us. So I'm doing this for you, because you mean so much to me. After tomorrow, we'll live happier lives and we'll have a perfect future together. All for you," he explained.
"I see," said Okari. But this made her feel even more unsettled. When he talked about Xehanort, his eyes sparkled with admiration. When he talked about Okari, although his words were sweet, the sparkling in his eyes dulled. At least it sounded like he didn't have to worry about Xehanort after tomorrow.
The next morning Okari woke and reached over for her fiancée, but felt only sheets next to her. She opened her eyes and saw Ienzo buttoning up his shirt. He adjusted his purple necktie and slipped on his lab coat.
"You're awake," he said. He walked over and kissed her face softly. "Good morning."
"'Morning… You're awfully cheerful," she commented groggily, getting up and blinking the sunlight out of her eyes.
"After today, there will be no reason not to be cheerful," he muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing. I have to go," he said and walked out of the door.
"Today is our day," said Xehanort, addressing his five colleagues. "We will create a new world ruled by the benign darkness. In order to do so, all of you must pledge yourselves to me. Not to anyone else. Not to your loved ones. Not even to the lord of this world. In order for our long years of research to be successful, I need loyalty. Without loyalty, every foundation will crumble and all will be for naught."
One at a time; Braig, Dilan, Even, and Elaeus made their pledge. The last to walk up was Ienzo.
"Ienzo, do you pledge yourself to me?"
Ienzo slowly kneeled to him respectfully. "Yes, Ansem."
"Ansem" smirked. "From now on you will be known as Zexion, the Cloaked Schemer."
The patrol went as it would on any other day. But Okari knew something must be happening. Would the world tomorrow really be completely different? She was alert to any change. Laguna, now her second-in-command, walked next to her.
"General, why are you so anxious today?" he asked. Okari shrugged. They stopped at the entrance to the underground laboratory. Now her day would end. Was there any change?
"I just thought…" Okari started to say. But then Laguna interrupted her.
"What's that?" he yelled. He pointed to the entrance. A small creature, unlike Okari had ever seen, scuttled into the hallway. It was small and completely black, almost resembling an insect with round yellow eyes. Okari unsheathed her sword and pressed the point against it. The thing stiffened and then scuttled away.
"That was kind of mean…" Laguna muttered.
"Don't be stupid! We don't know what it is. Alert the guards and Ansem the Wise, that's an order," she said.
"Yes ma'am—whoa!" he yelled. Suddenly, more of the small creatures filled the corridor. Some larger ones joined them: Bluish, clumsy, armor-clad ones with large red claws and their chests were adorned with a black heart crossed with red thorns. They blocked Laguna's path and attacked him. Laguna defended himself with his gunblade, but when he tried to attack his blade glanced right off of their dark bodies. When Okari approached to back him up, they backed away from her.
"What?" The Heartless scuttled away from her or even completely ignored her. "Come on, Laguna I can clear a path for…" But Okari was interrupted by a scream. She whipped around and her eyes widened. "Laguna!"
The larger monsters impaled him with their claws. Blood poured from his gaping wounds and stained his uniform. Okari ran over to him and the creatures cleared away.
"Laguna…" Okari gasped. But before she could do anything his body disappeared into darkness. It happened so quickly that Okari stared at the blood-covered ground he had just been. Then she remembered: This was like his death in her nightmare. She clenched her head and cried out. He couldn't be dead! She breathed in deeply and picked up her sword and yelled as she hurtled herself into the mass of dark creatures. For some reason, her sword affected them and every creature her blade touched disappeared. But they still ignored her. She ran ahead of the mass and found a guard.
"Alert the guards and Ansem the Wise. We have a crisis," she yelled. He nodded and ran as fast as he could. As the creatures and darkness spread throughout the castle, all that existed were panic and chaos. Eventually she found a distraught Hemera holding Kairi tightly to herself.
"Do you know where Ansem is?" Okari asked.
Hemera shook her head. "He's nowhere to be found. I'm so scared…" Hemera cried. Okari suddenly pulled Hemera behind her.
"Stay close!" she warned. Darkness and the creatures approached them from all sides. Once they were aware of Hemera and Kairi, the antennas of the smaller creatures twitched. They started at them. They avoided Okari but still rushed at Hemera and Kairi. Okari defended them. But in the end it wasn't enough. Hemera was pinned down by the creatures.
"No!" Okari yelled. Their grip was unshakable. Hemera's body started to disappear into the darkness. "I can't… I can't lose you!"
"Kairi!" Hemera screamed. Kairi turned from Okari's hold and stared at Hemera, crying with fear.
"Mommy?" she whispered.
"Pro-Protect…her…" Hemera cried out before she was entirely consumed by the darkness.
"MOMMY!" Kairi cried. Okari scooped Kairi into her arms, only to have her wrenched away. Xehanort appeared from the mass of darkness and pulled Kairi from Okari's weakened grip. The princess screamed at the top of her lungs.
"NO!" Okari screamed. Xehanort just smirked at her and disappeared. Everything was happening so quickly, Okari couldn't breathe. She ran outside. She needed to keep everyone else safe. Once she got outside she saw a large gummi ship. The teenage pilot Cid ran up to her.
"You're a wreck. Don't worry, I'm gettin' everyone I can on them gummi ships," he said.
"Thank you, Cid," Okari muttered.
"You comin'?"
"No, I have to do something else. I can't burden you," she replied. She helped people on the ship and saw Squall. He was shaken and his eyes looked empty.
"Squall!" she yelled and ran over.
"Okari… Mom's dead. I know that Dad's dead, too. You don't have to tell me," he whispered, his voice lifeless.
Okari frowned and looked at his friends. She knew his friend, Cloud, the blonde spiky-haired boy who was slightly older. He helped Squall onto the ship. The oldest of them, a girl with long braided brown hair, followed them. The youngest of them, a little girl (not too much older than Kairi) with short black hair, huddled close her and cried. Cid hopped onto the ship last and the door closed. The ship blasted into the sky and Okari sprinted back into the castle.
She ran all the way to the underground laboratory and flew down the steps. All of them stood there: Xehanort, Ienzo, Even, Dilan, Elaeus, and Braig. They all wore black hooded cloaks with silver fixtures. A dark portal opened and Xehanort stepped inside with no hesitation. Braig followed closely and then Dilan followed him. Even frowned and then walked in. Elaeus walked in after wards.
"Ienzo!" Okari yelled. She ran, but every step seemed to bring her farther instead of closer. Her arms reached out of him desperately, but all was for naught. Ienzo turned her head and stared for a moment.
"I'm sorry."
He walked into the portal and it closed behind him.
And her world shattered.
"No… No… I….can't…Ienzo…" Okari gasped. Her vision faded and she fell to the floor. She clawed for the silver heart hung around her neck. The pain was too much. The room filled with the sound of an earsplitting crack! Her necklace felt changed. With the last of her strength she looked at the necklace.
A deep, zigzag crack sliced through the middle of the silver heart. It didn't break completely in half but the crack was still there. It was the reflection of her broken heart. The damage could never be mended.