Chapter X: Key to Eternity

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.
'Which road do I take?' she asked. 'Where do you want to go?' was his response. 'I don't know,' Alice answered. 'Then,' said the cat, 'it doesn't
matter...'
-Lewis Carrol; [u]Alice In Wonderland

***~~~***

Ansem didn't really know what to make of the newcomer- who just called himself "The King"- he decided not to disclose his real name. Ansem took the king to the library, and, luckily, the maddened Valentine child was gone. The two sat at a table, and talked.

They talked for hours on end. The King began with talking about the vessel he used to get there. "It's made from things called 'Gummi Blocks'."

"Gummi Blocks?" Ansem repeated, stupefied.

"Your world's- and all of the others too- barrier is made from Gummi Blocks. When your barrier broke, your world was 'connected' to some of the others." The King explained.

"Hmmm... There was a meteor shower the night I opened this particular door..." Ansem said, mainly to himself.

"A door?" The King questioned. "Can I see it?"

"Oh, I don't remember where it was," Ansem lied. Although Ansem felt no hostility from The King, he still didn't trust him to see his door.

"Oh, I see..." The King replied thoughtfully, almost as if he could see through Ansem's lie. "Anyway, since your world is connected, I could get here."

"You could get here, eh? Can you leave here? Can my people and I leave here?" Ansem asked, clawing the arm of his chair.

"Oh yeah. In fact, I'm only staying tonight, and then I have to get back to my own kingdom," The King explained. Ansem was quite disappointed to hear this... The thought of someone who knew more than he did! The simple thought of it was astonishing.

The King and Ansem talked much more after that, too. It was in the wee hours of the morning, and the two intellectuals started telling stories. It was one story that changed Ansem's life forever.

"Kingdom Hearts," The King muttered.

"Hm? What is 'Kingdom Hearts'?" Ansem asked, curious.

"Kingdom Hearts, is the legendary 'Heart of All Worlds'. It is a door to Darkness... A door to Light... A door to Knowledge." At the word 'Darkness' Ansem's eyes lit up, and at the mention of knowledge, the King had his undivided attention. "Supposedly, within Kingdom Hearts is infinite knowledge. More than the libraries of all the worlds combined. But that knowledge is supposed to come with a price."

"What price is that?" Ansem asked eagerly. For Knowledge, Ansem would do anything.

"I'm not sure. The legend stopped after that..." Ansem's shoulders slumped in disappointment. "...but it'd be safe to say that the price is pretty high..."

The two talked more about legends, and one particular legend snagged Ansem's attention more than the others.

"The Key," The King said from out of the blue.

"The Key? The Key to what?"

"Well, it's called a 'Keyblade'. It's a weapon, of sorts, that holds phenomenal power. Now, there are two legends about the actual wielder of the Keyblade. One legend said he saved the world, and the other states he only brought chaos and ruin. Now, the Keyblade is rumored to be able to open doors, and close them."

Out of all the stories, Ansem really liked this one, though, not as much as the one about 'Kingdom Hearts'... A door to Knowledge... 'Nobody should learn more than they have to about Kingdom Hearts... I suppose this must also be excluded from my report...'

The sun had only risen an hour or so ago, and The King said he had to leave. Ansem objected, of course, but the King insisted upon his departure, so he returned to his vessel, and took flight, leaving the Hollow Bastion. Ansem immediately proceeded to his laboratory, when Sephiroth stopped him.

"You! What do you want?" Ansem asked crankily. Sephiroth kept a calm, cool, insidious look that Ansem didn't like...

"I was there," Sephiroth replied.

"You were where?!" Ansem demanded. He raised a threatening fist, but Sephiroth obviously was not intimidated.

"In the library. All night. Listening... to everything... I now possess more knowledge than even you," Sephiroth said madly.

"Oh really?" Ansem sneered. "What exactly do you know about?"

"The Key... Light... Darkness... In Between... Kingdom Hearts..." By now, Sephiroth had his back turned to Ansem, and, just for effect, he turned his back when he said the last word: "Paradise."

Paradise. The one thing Ansem had wanted all along. Where did true Paradise lie? Ansem nervously licked his lips and said, "What would you like for this information?"

"The same thing you do, sire... Darkness."

***~~~***

wood door

open

man with dark hair... man with blonde hair...

through door

squall... heart... heart... my heart.... Yuffie.

I am Yuffie. Falling through the darkness... I can see it... I can see my
heart.

***~~~***

Laguna and Cid crept out of the wooden door of the pub, not even noticing the Heartless that went in after them. The Heartless' antennae vibrated at the sight of Squall, who was currently unaware of the Heartless' presence.

The Heartless pounced upon Squall without warning. Squall only had enough time to gasp in surprise before he and the Heartless were engulfed in a bright light. Everything happened in a blur- he saw the Heartless, then the light, then-

"Yuffie...." Squall whispered. The ninja girl stood before him, looking drowsy, yet elated to see Squall. She threw her arms around Squall's neck, even before he had time to process everything.

'Yuffie is... here? Why? Is she... hugging me?' Squall thought as Yuffie embraced him.

"Squall! Oh Hyne! I've missed you so much! You have no idea how lost I was!" By now, Yuffie had started to cry, and was crying even as she talked. "I was falling in the darkness! And I couldn't find anyone! I started to forget my friends, my family, even me, but I didn't forget you! I found you!"

Squall let Yuffie cry into his shoulder, and as everything came into focus, his undying love for Yuffie slowly diminished.
***~~~***

"...and then, Squall, he said, 'Back off you crazy leopard!'" Aerith and Cloud both laughed for several minutes, Aerith gasping for air, and Cloud frequently wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

All discomfort and fear from Cloud was gone from Aerith. She now felt more happy and safe with Cloud than she did with Sephiroth. And... when Squall was put away, Sephiroth ignored her, and Yuffie went missing, Cloud was there for her. He would stop whatever he was doing to spend time with her.

And, at first, Cloud disliked Aerith for the aloofness she carried around with her friends and she, but now... Now, she couldn't spend enough time with her...

When the two finished laughing, Cloud looked deep into Aerith... He knew something would happen... Something always did happen... From his birth within the world's core, from when his "father" Doctor Odine found him, adopted him, kept him as a secret, while all the while using him for information, and finally, when Sorceress Adel killed Odine, and forced Cloud into the Depths, from where he bided his time for the Darkness to take this place... Wherever Cloud went, Darkness and Pain always followed, like two faithful, conniving labradors. Darkness was coming... Cloud could feel it... And he knew there was no way he could stop it, and- the scary thing was- he wasn't sure he wanted to.

***~~~***

Ansem, after speaking with the devious Sephiroth, walked into his lab tired, yet energetic enough to write the ninth page of his report before falling unconscious on his desk:

"Simply astonishing! Today I had a guest from another world. He is a king,
and his vessel is built of the material that composed the meteors. He called the pieces 'gummi blocks.' It seemed that my opening the door has
opened a path to inter-world travel.

We talked for countless hours, but one story in particular caught my interest: that of a key called the "Keyblade." The Keyblade is said to hold
phenomenal power. One legend says its wielder saved the world, while
another says that he wrought chaos and ruin upon it.

I must know what this Keyblade is. A key opens doors. It must be connected
to the door I have opened."

***~~~***

The next several days were rather tense. Ansem wasn't seen, not even at dinner, rumors of the disappearances of Laguna and Cid were raging about like a wildfire, and Yuffie's disappearance unnerved everyone.

Cid, Laguna, Squall and Yuffie all stayed in the pub, living as quiet as mice, and Cid decided to not let Yuffie leave, as she knew of their location. Yuffie didn't mind- she took the bed next to Squall's, and that bumped Laguna to sleeping behind the bar.

It was only a few days after Yuffie's metamorphosis back to a human, when she started to notice something was wrong with Squall.

"Why aren't you talking to me that much? Is it because you're busy with the mission?" she asked. Of course, Yuffie couldn't live with them without being told of the plan to assassinate Ansem.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Don't worry about it," Squall said simply, brushing Yuffie off as he went to take a few boxes out of their room, and taking them downstairs. Yuffie followed close on his heels.

"Are you sure? You haven't talked to me a whole lot..." she said forlornly. "I mean, I haven't seen you in so long... After you were- um- institutionalized..."

"I'm fine, Yuffie," Squall replied firmly. Yuffie persisted.

"But Squall-"

"I said I was fine!" Squall snarled. "Why don't you go ask Laguna or Cid if they need your help?!"

"Because, I want to know just what the hell is wrong with you!" Yuffie shot back quietly. Squall threw her a cold stare, and went upstairs again, slamming the door behind him. Even from downstairs, Yuffie heard the lock slide into place. Something was wrong...

And, oh, something was indeed wrong, and Squall did know what it was. 'Yuffie lost her heart... And her heart was alive in me... My love for her brought her back... But when she got her heart back, she took it from me... I don't have her heart anymore, so I don't love her anymore...'

Squall sighed, and whispered quietly, 'I vow... To never get close to anyone again... To prevent me from losing any more people, and causing me any more pain... I can't take it, so I won't...' And so, his fate was sealed. The man who chose to never love again... To miss out on life's greatest experiences, and greatest losses.