Chapter 14: Of Gods and Memories

The next day found Kairi back under Master Eraqus's watch and guidance, eating breakfast together quietly before they left for whatever mission he had planned.

"Today's 'mission' is different then the last few you've been on," said Eraqus, "There will be no fighting, unless we are needed to for some reason."

Kind of like the one in Tristram? Or... oh he probably didn't know about that one. Might be best not to mention she had already been there...

"Okay, so what are we doing then?" she asked.

"Making introductions and playing politics," he replied dryly, "We will be heading to Olympus, there, I will show you that world, introduce you to the ruling gods who reside there."

Meeting gods huh? "Sweet, when do we leave?"

Eraqus frowned. "Not until I've given you a bit of a... 'briefing'."

"First, you must watch how you act while you are there," he explained, "The gods themselves walk amongst the world there nowadays in order to counteract the Heartless. Some are pleasant, some are not, and some can explode like a firecracker if ticked off."

Basically, she took it as 'keep your mouth shut unless told or asked to speak', but not sounding as rude.

"Okay," she replied.

"Second, we will most likely encounter Hades. Do not respond to his baiting, he loves to toy with people and try to get a rise out of them, understood?" he explained and asked.

"Okay," she replied again.

"I wouldn't normally say this, but, after what Sora did I feel I have to. Third, don't get any ideas if we go to see a tournament," said Eraqus.

Kairi blinked a few times. "What did Sora do? And what kind of tournament?"

Eraqus rubbed his eyes tiredly. "There are several kinds of tournaments held in Olympus. Open competition ones, in which anyone living and not divine can fight to better themselves. Underworld tournaments, where dead heroes and villains fight for the right to be revived and aid in the defense of the world. And finally, tournaments of the gods, where the gods themselves compete."

He leaned back in his chair. "Sora, on our first visit to the world, fresh with his Keyblade, snuck into one of the open tournaments."

Kairi snorted. "How did that end?"

"In the infirmary," answered Eraqus bluntly.

Kairi smirked a bit at that. "I see."

"And besides, the tournaments there are for those who reside in the world, not outsiders like us," added in Eraqus, "Now come, it's time we were on our way."

They flew through the Lanes Between towards their destination, and as they came closer, Kairi took note of what she saw. A great arena in the clouds. Below it, at the base of a mountain, a large city full of white buildings with red roofs. Countryside went on for a ways from what she could see. Curiously, on the bottom side of the world, she noticed a strange kind of black pillar with green mist swirling about it. This kind of looked like the most whole and unmarred world she had been to yet.

They flew down over the city and countryside, Kairi's eyes going wide as she did. Eraqus hadn't been kidding, there were glowing beings giving off unusual energy, dressed in togas of all things, walking around. Some had regular people walking with them. But it wasn't only gods and mortals, there were huge, monster like creatures wandering about. If she counted right, four of them. One made of ice, one made of rock, one made of lava, and one made of wind. As she flew lower with Eraqus, she noted the huge creatures and the gods give eachother a wide berth. It appeared like they didn't like each other.

Finally, they landed at the base of the mountain a bit from the city and dismounted their gliders.

"What were those monsters walking around?" asked Kairi.

"The four surviving titans," said Eraqus, "Former enemies of the gods, but, were let out of their prison the help fight the Leader of the Heartless and granted pardon under the conditions that they behave and help defend the world."

"Hail Eraqus," came a woman's voice.

They both turned, sighting a glowing woman with a long brown unkempt ponytale with leafs in it, blue eyes, odd small white antler like horns coming out of the sides of her forehead, leaf-like earrings, a blue squirrel on her shoulder, and a bow in her hands approaching them.

Eraqus bowed. "Good to see you again, Goddess Artemis."

Eraqus shot Kairi a quick look, and she bowed as well.

Artemis waved a hand and bid them rise. "Please Master Keybearer, we've told you, a friend of the gods never need humble themselves before us."

They did as she asked.

"What returns you to us, Master Keybearer?" inquired Artemis.

Eraqus motioned to Kairi. "I plan to introduce our newest Keybearer to the Pantheon."

Artemis smiled. "Ah, a new one eh? Well..."

Before she could continue, the squirrel on her shoulder leaped off and onto Kairi's and started to play with her ear. She stood there, uncertain of what she was supposed to do with that animal pawing at her earlobe...

Artemis chuckled and walked forward. "I think he likes you."

She reached for the squirrel, only for it to dart away and climb onto Kairi's head and attempt to hide in her hair. "Sorry, my hair's not that long."

Artemis plucked the squirrel up by it's tail, wagged a scolding finger at it, and set it back down on her own shoulder. "Anyway, Zeus and most of the Pantheon are at the games, topside."

"Alright, thank you," said Eraqus, "Until next time."

Artemis tilted her head. "Until next time."

Kairi gazed up at the mountain. "Alright, one quick fly and..."

"Who said we were flying?" said Eraqus, amused.

Kairi blanked. "Uh... but... how would we get up?"

He turned and started walking. "We climb. It's good training."

Was... was he SERIOUS?

To her chagrin, he was serious. Also to her chagrin, was how awful she was at climbing. She didn't have any experience with it. Climbing rocks, gripping indents, tip-toeing along very small ledges, maintaining a grip on very iffy surfaces including those that crumbled. After her first fall, Eraqus had stopped climbing himself and rode his glider to watch, instruct, and catch her if need be. He thankfully didn't make her start over, merely finding her a spot to continue from around the same level.

"Not only is climbing excellent physical training," said Eraqus, "In determining a route it teaches you to plan ahead, when something goes wrong it teaches you think fast, and finally it teaches you to always look for opportunities."

"And how to plummet several hundred feet," she muttered.

Eraqus chuckled. "Riku said something along those lines when he did this."

"You made him do this too?" asked Kairi, pausing briefly on the ledge she was on.

"Actually, Terra did, and I then used the lesson for Sora," admitted Eraqus.

"Okay, so blame Master Terra then, I'll remember that," said Kairi dryly.

Eraqus seemed amused. "If the student complains about the difficulty of the lesson, it's generally a good one."

Kairi resisted rolling her eyes and reached up for the next ledge. "Wasn't complaining."

"Whining then?" inquired Eraqus innocently.

"Was not!" she defended before yelping, almost losing her grip.

"Tsss, " she hissed, grinding her teeth, "Did Master Aqua ever have to train like this?"

There was a bit of silence from Eraqus, before he softly chuckled. "Exactly like this? No. While I wasn't exactly lenient with my training, back then there was no need for it to be anywhere as extreme as it is with Sora, Riku, and yourself."

He sighed. "But now there is, and it's... unnatural... to have pushed them so far so fast, and to be doing the same with you. Fighting legions of Heartless is nothing an apprentice should ever have been forced to do. To be frank, Sora and Riku have already become stronger than Aqua and Terra were for their Mark of Mastery Exam. If being a Keyblade Master were purely about power, they'd already have the title. And you, you came to us already stronger than Ventus was when he left after Aqua, it's impressive, you merely lack the experience to wield your Keyblade and your light more efficiently... but... the power you three have attained already at your age isn't something you should have been forced to achieve."

Kairi paused at the ledge she was on, thinking over his words. She had never considered herself strong enough, yet, here Master Eraqus was saying what she had now was impressive... and... to say that Sora and Riku were stronger than her Master had been when she first became a Master...

Which brought up a question.

"What exactly is the Mark of Mastery Exam?" she asked.

"A test to determine if a Wielder is ready for to accept, and perform, the responsibilities of a being Keyblade Master," said Eraqus, "It is a test of heart and character."

"Well, Master Aqua and Master Terra must have aced that exam easy, hope I can do the same when it's time," she said, reaching for the next ledge.

"Aqua... failed that exam," said Eraqus quietly.

It was like a bolt of lightning had hit her, her hand froze midair and she turned her head. "S-she did?!"

"I hold no doubt, that had Xehanort not cracked her heart, she would have passed easily," said Eraqus tiredly, "But he did, and the results were drastic for her. Ignoring the four years of training that followed that action, Aqua was unable to contain her darkness during the exam, lost herself in it, and came very close to seriously harming Terra out of simple battle-lust."

Kairi frowned intently. So, the cracks that old bastard had left in her Master's heart had done so much more than merely hurt her. Just how badly had Xehanort messed up her Master's life?

A soft smile touched Eraqus's lips. "But, even damaged as she was, she was still Aqua at heart. She stopped herself in time to prevent herself from hurting her friend, regaining control, she looked horrified to see what she had almost done. It was... a relief to see that at the time, when I had felt so lost, frustrated, and angry during most of the exam. It... hurt me to fail her."

"When did she become a Master then?" asked Kairi.

"Officially, it was... after we had thought Xehanort's threat was over with, thought that Aqua had defeated him for good, when we thought life would return to some semblance of normalcy," said Eraqus, a heavy sigh escaping his lips, "If only we had recognized what was going on in that one week... we could have done something..."

Kairi's eyes trailed up the mountainside, searching, before she spotted a place she could sit. She scrambled up and planted her butt down before turning to Master Eraqus.

"How did it end up like this?" she asked, "Did... Xehanort have something to do with IT? That thing didn't exist before, did he have something to do with it's creation? With the thing that killed my Master?"

There was a heavy, uncomfortable look at Eraqus's face. "You should resume the climb and..."

"Please Master Eraqus," she begged, "I... have to know."

Eraqus closed his eyes and simply said, "Yes, he did."

Kairi clenched her fists tightly. "I see."

"But... he alone did not hold to sole responsibility," said Eraqus softly.

She stared at him, confused. "What do you mean? He had help? An ally?"

"No... not exactly," he said sadly, "Aqua... made a mistake, and it cost her everything."

Kairi felt a solid lump form in her throat. "A... a... a m-mistake? What do you mean?"

Eraqus's eyes tightened. "According to Xehanort, Aqua had the chance to end him, but, wanted to make him suffer for the pain he had inflicted on her. It gave him the chance to weasel out of his defeat, and, unfortunately, the state of the worlds now is the result."

Kairi went completely and utterly silent, not sure what she was supposed to think or feel after that. Xehanort SHOULD have to suffer for what he did... but... for this to be the result... the price wasn't worth it... oh Master Aqua... Kairi was oddly glad she wasn't around to see what had happened, it would have broken her Master's heart...

"I can't honestly blame her, none of us do. Any fault that could be laid at her feet comes to land at ours first. Four years, four years we watched her struggle with herself and her darkness after Xehanort harmed her, yet, not once did we force the issue. We respected her decision to not come forward to us, and, we let her suffer it alone," he said with remorse, "Even worse, Xehanort hurt her, right under my nose, and I hadn't a clue. I bear the greatest of the blame for this outside of Xehanort himself."

Kairi stared at him, not sure if she was supposed to feel pity or anger towards him and Master Aqua's friends.

"But, it does not mean there is nothing to be drawn from what happened. If there is one thing to learn from her mistake, it is to not let your passions, your anger, and your hate consume you. It will leave you with nothing in the end," said Eraqus solemnly.

Kairi nodded angrily. "Yeah, if I ever get the chance to put Xehanort down, I'm doing it no questions asked without giving him a chance to get away and do more harm. Some evils need to just be stamped out rather than being taught a lesson."

Eraqus blinked a few times before rubbing his eyes. "Not exactly what I meant, but regardless, come, resume the climb. I'd like to be back home before dinner preferably."

Kairi still had many questions, but, decided to let them drop for now. She had learned quite a bit, much of which that shook her. She climbed absent mindedly, her thoughts mostly focused on trying to sort out what she had been told, and what to feel about it.

She... agreed that she could not blame her Master for the outcome, the grisly fate the worlds were suffering. Master Aqua, as much as Kairi had always put her up on a pedestal in her mind, was only human, and humans made mistakes. Not to mention, according to Eraqus, the blame laid with many people, and ESPECIALLY with Xehanort. None of this would have happened if not for him...

She turned her thoughts onto what she had learned about Master Aqua as a person. She had never thought her Master had to struggle like that. Perhaps she was a fool to have thought it. What she had heard all those years ago from her Master while speaking to her in her heart, the damage she had healed, it should have been obvious that it was so much more than simple heart-damage. Truth be told, she held doubts what Master Eraqus had told her even scratched the surface. The only one who would know the truth on the depth of that pain would have been Master Aqua herself.

Though... she was now a bit curious on something. She noted, how Eraqus had told her so much, without telling her pretty much any specific details. The only concrete detail she had learned was that Master Aqua failed her exam, well, and maybe some time figures for when certain events happened. The fact that Master Aqua had wanted Xehanort to suffer didn't tell Kairi how she made him do so, nor how Xehanort had gotten out of it, nor how IT had come about. That was a great mystery to her, in fact, she knew almost nothing about IT, aside from it being stupidly powerful, evil, and that it was the leader of the Heartless.

"What kind of Heartless is IT?" asked Kairi.

When Eraqus didn't respond, she turned her head to look at him, noting how uncomfortable he now looked. "Is it a giant monster kind like a Darkside? Something smaller but powerful like an Invisible?"

She paused, thinking about the clowns from Alexandria. "Or was it something humanoid?"

That caused Eraqus to visibly flinch. "..."

"Master Eraqus?" she asked, growing uncertain why he seemed so... upset looking and conflicted.

"Kairi, focus on the task at hand. When I believe you are ready, I will tell you all you need know," said Eraqus, growing firm, leaving no room for question.

Tss... all she wanted to know was what her enemy looked like. It seemed stupid keeping her in the dark on so important a detail. Whatever, she obeyed and resumed climbing, putting more effort into trying to scale the mountain. What Eraqus had said about her, and the other two apprentices, being strong for their age, did not put any damper on her desire to get even stronger. She NEEDED to be stronger, especially if she was ever going to make a difference against IT.

By the time she reached the half-way point, it was noon, the sun high in the sky. By the time she reached the steps leading up to a giant double-door, she was pretty sure it was probably around five or six. Dinner was probably being cooked about now back home, and she was starving, and very tired from the climb. Shame it would probably be cold by the time they got back. Oh well, she had tried to climb fast. She paused at the doors, hearing an audible roar of cheers from inside. She pushed the door open and walked into an open area, sighting the entrance to what looked like a gigantic arena.

Her eyes looked upward. "Big..."

"It used to be smaller and less grand, but, when the gods themselves started attending and watching personally, it was renovated," said Eraqus, "Come, let us see Phil."

"Phil?" she asked.

"A satyr, he has a good heart, but can be a bit... crude and upfront, not to mention his mathematical skills are a bit lacking," he said with a bit of humor.

"How so?" she asked.

Eraqus coughed and tried to change his voice, "'I've got two words of advice for you, attack!'"

Kairi snorted, both at what he had told her, and his attempt to mimic a voice. He wasn't very good at it, A-plus for effort though. They walked into a small reception area that had several hallways splintering off. There was a small goat like man pacing around. Was... that what a satyr was?

"Greetings Phil," said Eraqus, walking up to the satyr.

Phil turned and strut over. "Yo! Welcome back, here for the games?"

"In a sense, is the Pantheon still here?" asked Eraqus.

"Eh, most left, Zeus is still up watchin, most because of Herc, his old man can't get enough of watching his son fight," said Phil.

"Well, he didn't get to participate in his son's youth much from what I know," said Eraqus, "It's one way to make up for lost time."

Phil grunted and pointed down the hall. "God's seats."

Eraqus nodded and bid him farwell before walking down the hall, Kairi following suit. They ascended several stairs, following the increasing noise of people cheering and shouting. Finally, they came out on a balcony with a large glowing man sitting on a throne. He was muscular, with rather long white hair for a guy. He had full facial hair, his beard going half-way down his neck. He was dressed in a purple toga with a golden button of a cloud and a thunderbolt on it.

"Lord Zeus," greeted Eraqus, bowing heavily, Kairi doing the same.

Zeus turned his had and spoke loud and warmly, "Ah Eraqus, welcome, you're just in time for the final match, come come!"

Eraqus moved to stand a bit behind Zues, and Kairi a bit behind him. It was a bit hard to see the arena from this high up, but... it looked to be a muscular man in brown against a red caped man with a huge sword.

"Whose his opponent? He's not one i recognize," said Eraqus.

"New arrival, came to the underworld about a month ago and won the tournament there, so we restored him to life, goes by the name of Auron," said Zeus, "His skill is exceptional, though, I hold doubts he can defeat my son, even with him barred from using his god powers for this tournament."

They watched the fight down below, or rather, they watched and Kairi squinted. "How do you see the fight from up here?"

Eraqus coughed and shot her a look.

Zeus however merely chuckled. "I was wondering when our guest was going to speak up. I have godly sight, so it's no difficulty for myself."

Zeus looked Kairi over. "Hmm... red hair, blue eyes, shines with light.."

Oh not again...

"You must be the Kairi that Sora was looking for," said Zeus.

God dammit Sora...

"Yes, I'm Kairi," she replied evenly.

Zeus gave a hearty chuckle. "I felt that boy would find you eventually, the strength of his heart was to grand to allow otherwise. Even if he hasn't reached his full potential yet, he has the heart of a true hero."

Zeus paused to look a bit closer at Kairi. "Curiously, not that you don't have the same kind of potential."

Kairi perked up a bit at that.

Eraqus put a hand on Kairi's shoulder. "She is, after all, our newest Keybearer."

Zeus raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is that so?"

Zeus glanced briefly down at the arena before rising off his throne, taking a few steps, and then kneeling down to match Kairi's level. "Then, I will tell you the same thing that I told young Sora and Riku when I first met them. Listen well child..."

Kairi blinked a few times and focused only on the god before her. "Yes?"

"A true hero isn't measured by the size of his, or her in your case, strength, but the size of his or her heart," he explained, "A true hero does not care what he or she is called, so long as they follow their heart, care for their friends, and fight for what is right, even going so far as to give themselves up for those they love."

Kairi absorbed his words, her face going a bit red with shame at the second part. Did he... somehow know how much she wanted to be a hero, be called one? Godly perception maybe, or just wisdom with age. Maybe it was a bit of a selfish desire on her part... but oh how she wanted it.

Zeus rose to his feet and returned to his throne. "So, Sora found her, then you turned her into a Keybearer Eraqus?"

Eraqus hesitated. "Not... quite. It turns out she had already had the ceremony performed on her."

"Oh? By whom?" asked Zeus.

Eraqus spoke with a hard and forceful tone, one that confused Kairi considering how he had spoken of watching how they acted, "Aqua."

Zeus frowned briefly before slowly nodding. "Same deal as with Sora?"

Eraqus nodded, but said nothing.

Same... deal as with Sora? What was that supposed to mean? She was started to feel a bit vexed. Was Xehanort right? Were they keeping something from her? She held her tongue though. Yelling and arguing about it wouldn't get her answers.

They stayed for a few more minutes, long enough, for Zeus's chagrin, for Auron to be announced the winner over Hercules. Eraqus polity excused them before Zeus could start on his 'end-of-the-games' speech as Eraqus called it in their hasty retreat. They left the world afterwords, flying towards home as night fell.

When they landed, Kairi stretched herself a bit. "So, that's all the core and inner worlds then."

"All?" questioned Eraqus.

"Er... I might have gone to Tristram with Sora and Mickey," she admitted.

Eraqus merely sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Not something I wanted to happen yet."

"No kidding," she muttered, "That Aidan guy is creepy."

Eraqus didn't reply.

"So, do I start going to outer worlds next?" she asked.

"Not yet, I plan to keep you closer to home for awhile," he explained.

She frowned at that.

Eraqus raised an eyebrow in response. "Do you think that they don't need our protection?"

"Well... no," she admitted.

"You helping to cover our closer worlds allows each of us to spread further out in return," explained Eraqus.

"I guess, well, time to see if they left us any leftovers," said Kairi with chagrin they moved to enter the keep.

To her surprise, when they arrived in the mess hall, there were two plates with flickers of magic glowing around them, a note on the table between them. Kairi walked over and picked it up.

For our friends when they get their lazy butts back.

-Sora

:)

That cheeky bastard...

She poked a finger into one of the plates, the moment she did, the magic around them faded. The food had been kept warm and fresh...

Tch... well... it was a nice gesture she guessed. She grudgingly sat down and ate alongside Eraqus before they retired for the night.

Author's Notes:

Hee hee, Kairi has no idea how hard she hit the nail right on the head with her question about what kind of Heartless IT was.

But that's fine, because that question will be answered for her very soon...

In fact... why don't you all go turn to the next chapter that's being released with this one...?

:very evil teasing smile:

It's time for the plot to take off beyond simple training.

Mwhahahaah!