--Chapter Fourteen: Getting Started--

[Thank you to everyone who voted. So far it has been a unanimous call for #4: a follow-up story, and I have decided to start working on the new story after I am finished with No Comrade Left Behind, which should be coming to a close soon. I have not yet decided on all the plot points of the next follow-up story, and while it will be Kingdom-Hearts based, I am going to warn you now it will only follow the rules of the KH realm, and will most likely ignore any already existing plotline within the games or manga series. =) enjoy this next chapter 3 ]

It seemed to take them a moment to fully absorb what they were seeing, but Berri did not care. Her attention was firmly focused on a fourth figure in the group of heroes; and quite frankly it was one that took her off guard. There was a tall, lithe figure made of literally nothing but bone dressed in a black suit with white pinstripes and a bat-shaped bowtie at the collar. It appeared to be male, and virtually towared several feet over Sora and the gang. From her current perspective she guessed the stranger would have towered slightly over Riku as well.

Sora had frowned, and was currently flailing his arms back and forth across the field of her vision. The yellow x-marks across his black fingerless gloves were making rather hypnotic patterns through the still blurred vision her tear-filled eyes were providing. It took a rather substantial amount of effort to glance away from the also frowning skeleton and towards the spikey-haired boy before her. Goofy stepped forward and rested an oddly four-fingered hand on her shoulder.

"Uh, Analise, are you alright?" His floppy ears seemed to sway back and forth as he spoke, and the girl wondered for a moment if they worked better than her own. Regardless of their five senses, she found herself falling farther from hopelessness as their presence finally began to sink in.

They were friends, too, and she had no reason to despair just yet. Berri put forth more effort into her next smile before giving Goofy a hug and a pat on the back, "I'm okay."

This time it was Donald that stepped closer, bright yellow beak turned down into a contemplative frown, "Are you sure? You don't look okay.."

"Yeah, Donald and Goofy are right. You wouldn't be crying if you weren't upset, you know," Sora offered a smile, but wisely kept his distance. He seemed to understand too much attention would push her over the edge into a complete and total crying fest.

The strange Skeleton nodded, reaching forward with a bony hand to flick away one of the tears still lingering against her cheek. His elegant movements surprised her, considering the lack of muscle and tendons. Even without those anatomical aids he seemed to have a certain grace that only vampires had been rumored to posess, and the odd little spectacle made her miss Zee, a die-hard Dracula fan, all over again. Then the rush of anguish swept through her soul.

Not only had she lost Riku, but she had also failed to find any sign of Zee, Krysta, or Daniel. Failed was far too kind a word, for in truth she had forgotten to look altogether. Her heart shriveled, suffocating whatever self respect she had managed to salvage throughout her journey thus far. What kind of a friend let themselves forget the ones closest to them all for the sake of a boy? Certainly not a very Loyal one.

Her mental abuse session ended abruptly as the skeleton gave her a pat on the head and a weak, bony smile. It should have been a frightening spectacle, but the way his engraved features softened warmed her frostbitten spirits, "Now now, no tears in Halloweentown! Let's not spoil the holiday fun!"

Berri hiccuped into a smile, immediately feeling embarrassed. Oh well. It could have been worse--she could have snorted. The girl nodded, tucking a tuft of spikey ravenwing hair behind her ear, "I'll see what I can do, but--what's your name?"

"Oh! How silly of me--I'd forgotten," he gave a lavish bow, sweeping one unaturally long arm across his nearly nonexistent waist, "I am Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, of course. And you must be Analise."

She felt a startled expression settle into her features as he shook her hand and she found herself numbly shaking back. How had he known her name? "Ah, yes. That's me--and it's very nice to meet you Jack." Then she remembered Sora had been calling her, and God only knew for how long. That explained it.

He grinned again, stepping back to stand within the huddled posse of Sora, Donald, Goofy, and now that she knew who he was, The Pumpkin King. Sora grinned, and she could only guess he was glad to see her tears had ceased their silent trickling.

"Hey, Analise," he started, leaning the shimmering keyblade across his shoulders, "You sure you're okay? We're all here to help if you need anything."

The gears inside her brain whirred. What could she say without giving too much away? could she tell him about Riku? No. Thousands of possible answers fell away at that realization, leaving her with a more condensed, but no less heavy burden to lug around. Berri toyed around with a few ideas before the thrashing waves of words inside her mind completely dissolved, leaving only a gentle, calming breeze of thought. the correct phrases and syllables seemed to gently slide in, and as they dropped like rain in a pond to her brain, she let them flow out of her mouth like honey.

"No, I'm fine. I just got a little discouraged, I guess," She shrugged, delicately folding her arms over her chest, "I really am getting nowhere fast.."

It was a beautiful answer because it was not a lie, but she still managed to keep the bond of secrecy she had promised to hold with Riku. Sora seemed satisifed, and a flicker of complete and total understanding washed behind his eyes, "I'm glad we ran into you, then."

He grinned at Donald and Goofy, then finally up at Jack until she found herself staring at something she had never expected to find in a different world; real friends. Sure, Berri knew friends could come from different worlds; hadn't she befriended Riku? Hadn't she taught him the very thing Sora was reteaching her? The tiny spark left inside her heart twitched in defiance, refusing to be blown out. Sora had renewed her hope for a second time, and she was determined to repay him--even if it meant doing something dangerous.

"Sora," they leaned forward in anticipation, and Berri took a deep, cleansing breath, "I have something I need to tell you."

"Is everything okay..?"

"No. I haven't..well, I guess you could say I've been giving you half truths for a while now," her eyes wandered towards the fountain, and she was surprised to find Riku's cloak still lying there. The teen took a step forward, only to have her shoe collide with the keyblade lying at her feet. The clattering sound of metal on stone drew Sora's attention, and he gasped, quickly switching his attention form the weapon to her face and back again.

"Wh--Analise? Is that yours?"

"Well," She gave him an awkward, lop-sided grin, "Yes. It's mine, but that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about." Berri picked up the article of confusion and turned it over in her hands a few times to buy some time for thought organization, "Remember how I sort of disappeared back at Hollow Bastion?"

"Yeah--I actually think it's supposed to be called Radiant Garden, though," he smilled, and the encouraging gesture silenced whatever nervous butterflies had accumulated in her stomach. Even the cynical and sometimes sarcastic Donald Duck seemed to be patiently hanging on her every word.

"Well, I didn't leave on purpose. I was sort of kidnapped?" She watched the three of them jump in shock, eyes wide with questions that she held up a hand to hold back, "Someone from Organization XII--Sai'x, actually. That was his name--came by and knocked me out. I woke up in a cell."

Goofy's jaw had dropped, and before she could stop him he was standing by her again, one hand on her shoulder, "Gawsh, Analise--We're awful sorry. If we'd have known that we wouldn't have left you all alone!"

"Oh, no, it's oka--"

Donald pipped in, stomping his foot, "He's right!"

Sora nodded, the first glare she had ever seen grace his face set firmly into the usually innocent features, "No, Analise, it's not okay. The guys are right--it shouldn't have happened. We were too close by for that to have happened.."

Before he could apologize again she shook her head, spikey tufts of black hair swaying violently like a jello mold, "No, honest, Sora--it was a good thing."

"Huh?" It was Jack's turn to look confused. The skeleton frowned, which looked a bit more like a pout than anything else, "Being abducted is a good thing?"

Sora raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms behind his head, "Yeah, how IS that a good thing?"

"Well," she grinned, "It's a good thing for two reasons. First of all, they aren't very good babysitters, and someone left me unsupervised on the dungeon floor, I guess you could call it. There were definitely stairs, so I'm guessing it's a multi-level building of sorts. Anyways; Do you remember how we promised to keep our eyes open for each other's friends?"

"Yeah," Sora let his arms fall, and Berri watched as every inch of his being held its breath with anticipation.

"When I was stuck in there, somebody wearing a black cloak just like Organization Thirteen came to rescue me. Based on your description, and the fact that I could sense they were not without a heart, I think it might have been your friend Riku."

"What?!" He practically teleported forward, hands grasping her shoulders, "You really think you saw him? When? Was he okay?"

"Yeah, he was okay when I saw him, but that's not all: When I finally got away through one of the portals of darkness I wound up on the mountains--I think that's where I saw you again, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. Go on go on!"

"Well, one of the members of Organization Thirteen followed me, and tried to attack, but the same person that had rescued me appeared again to fend them off," Berri felt her voice falter, and all the boys seemed to sense it too.

Sora frowned deeply, and she thought she could feel sorrow and fear rolling out of his pours, "Did Riku get hurt?"

"If it was Riku, you mean--He did get hit with something; I'm not sure what it was. Some red beam that made him paralyzed. That's when I got the keyblade; I went to go help. You know, return the favor of being rescued? He got back up again after that, and brought me here," Berri pointed at the cloak still lying on the fountain," and after he left another organization member tried to follow me. He..well, he called me a princess, and asked if I wanted to meet a fellow princess named Kairi. I remembered you were looking for a Kairi, but when I asked where she was, all he said was 'you'll find out soon enough.' Somebody must have called him back, because he just left me here. I guess I got upset being alone again, because I started crying and then you popped up."

Sora's lip quivered, and his crystal blue eyes were heavy with the pressing threat of tears. "I know that was Riku. I can feel it, and I'm glad you're safe, too."

"Aw, Sora," Goofy started, but Donald beat him to the reassuring pat on the arm this time.

Berri frowned, ruffling her slender fingers through the boy's hair, "Don't cry yet, Sora! I haven't told you the second piece of good news yet, remember?"

He looked up again, and the hope in his eyes made her heart swell so that the girl herself almost started crying. Sora's moods truly were infectious, "What he said about me being a Princess of Heart is relatively true; I can at the very least sense darkness, or light, depending on which is more prominent in a person, or more importantly, a place."

She grinned, watching as though his forehead were a transparent window leading to the gears and pulleys and thought processing machines that made Sora's mind work. Pretty soon a smile broke out on his face as well, and the other three turned, confused, to listen in on, "Which means you can help me find Kairi?"

"Right. And if our hunch is correct, Riku as well. Based on his actions--and his attitude--my best guess is that he is trying to help you behind the scenes by throwing wrenches in the organization's plans."

Donald and Goofy errupted in cheering at the same time as Jack clasped his hands, "Oh, this is wonderful news! I simply must go tell Sally; she'll be happy to hear it."

"Okay, Jack--we'll catch up with you before we head out again," Sora nodded, and Jack Skellington shuffled off to attend to his Pumpkin King duties.

Berri sighed as the three remaining heroes turned to face her, "Okay, so, I have a plan, but I'm going to need your help."

Sora grinned, but held up his finger, "Okay, but just a second. I have something I need to tell you, now. Remember you were telling us about Zee?"

Her eyes shot wide open again. He could not possibly have seen her? After all that time, and she didn't even catch a glimpse..? "Yeah?"

Sora seemed to have sensed the frantic hope in her voice, and Donald and Goofy exchanged a knowing glance. Donald spoke up first, "Well, you said she liked to dance, right?"

"Uh, yeah, 'cause, not long after you disappeared--a-hyuck, actually I guess you were kidnapped, a girl came to Hollow Bast; I mean, Radiant Gardens a'lookin' fer you."

She could have kissed Goofy right then and there. Of course, the girl restrained herself, but it was quite a difficult process. Berri hopped up and down a few times on the heels of her shoes and clasped her hands together before her heart, "Oh, you don't think it was her, do you? Do you?"

Sora folded his arms across his chest and nodded gravely, "We think it was, but before she started asking for you, she was looking for Berri. And, there's somethin' else," he paused, letting his crystalline blue eyes trail away to the trickling and eery green glow of the fountain water, "I don't know how to put it exactly, but.."

All three of them looked at her again, and fear began to bubble in the pit of her stomach. Goofy frowned, kind eyes searching hers for some way to speak without causing a panic, "Well, uh, you see, Analise..she had an awful lot of heartless with her. We think maybe she was controllin' them."

Berri blinked, one eyebrow raising, and then falling right back into place with the other as her brows furrowed, lips pursing into a contemplative pout. "Controlling heartless? I didn't think just anybody could go off and do that.."

"That's just it--they can't," Sora explained, gesturing so often with his hands that were it not for his light Japanese accent, Berri would have thought he was Italian, "You have to be in touch with the darkness in your heart to control any heartless. You aren't....you aren't mad at us, are you?"

"What? No! Of course not," Berri frantically waved her hands, inwardly wondering if the wild gesticulations he made were also contagious. She had been using her hands to talk an awful lot lately, "If that's what you saw, then I believe you..I just can't figure out why you would have seen Zee doing something like that at all.."

Donald tapped one flippery foot on the ground and hummed, "I can't figure it out either. She seemed perfectly nice--and she wasn't attacking anybody, either."

Goofy nodded, "Yeah, come to think of it, Donald, you're right. She was just sending them out to look, not to hurt anybody. Right, Sora?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe she thought they would be able to help her find you two?"

"I guess so," Berri nodded with a slightly more confident grin, "Yeah, that does sound a bit more like her. Zee's not really afraid of doing things her own way..you know, marching to the beat of a different drummer?"

Sora grinned as though all the questions of life had just been resolved. "Right! That's the way to, Analise; just remember, nobody knows your friends better than you--unless of course, you count them knowing themselves. So what's this plan you had?"

"Well, I'm going to sound crazy, but bear with me you three, okay?"

"Don't worry, Analise," Donald grinned, puffing out his chest in an attempt to look macho, "We trust you."

"Yeah, Sora, Donald and I know you've got a good plan comin'. I can feel it," Goofy nodded, scrunching his eyes with the wideness of his following bucktoothed grin.

Her plan had a few potholes in it of course, but the basic structure of the idea was solid. However, it all relied on them getting her back to Hollow Bastion. Now if only she could remember to start calling it by its real name, "First, we need to find a portal, or a corridor of darkness. I know, I know, it's dangerous, but here's the deal--if I can get inside, I'll be able to feel my way back to wherever they were keeping me, and that's bound to be where they're holding Kairi. Sora, Donald, Goofy, you guys will have to hang back here for a while; I'll need you to make sure Leon and the others know Organization Thirteen is up to no good. There was way too much activity going on there when they had me for them to be patiently awaiting your arrival. My best guess is they'll either be coming for you on their own, or they'll be sending out a bunch of Heartless and Nobodies to do the job for them. I think Leon and the gang will take the threat more seriously if you tell them; they know you a lot better."

"Okay, that sounds fair. But what will you be doing?"

"I'll be looking for Kairi, and for Riku, if he's there--chances are he knows everything you do by now, so if I can find him he can help me free Kairi. Then when she's okay, I'll find a way to make sure you can get to Organization Thirteen's stronghold. Then we can see what they're up to, and maybe put a stop to it."

Sora frowned, and glanced at Donald, then Goofy before all three of them gave a silent nod, "Okay. I think I know where we can find a portal; There's this place called Twilight Town, and the old Mansion there feels kinda creepy. We were going to head back in just a bit anyway to make sure everyone there was alright. I don't know why, but--I feel a connection to them. Like we were friends a long time ago or something.."

She blinked, and gave him a curious smile, "Maybe you were."

"Maybe," Sora folded his arms again, pondered the possibility, and let both hands fall to his sides, "I'm going to go tell Jack we're heading out. Just wait here, and then we'll all head off to Twilight Town. 'Kay?"

The girl gave one curt nod. All the nervous feelings that had been shaking her from the inside had dissolved. He was easier to talk to than she'd thought. "Got it. I'll wait right by the fountain."

------- five minutes or so pass ------

"I bet you think you're awfully clever."

She had nearly fallen asleep to the calming rush of air and twittering rustle of the leaves. His ice cold voice was certainly not a welcoming disturbance. Berri leaned away from the fountain's rim and carefully got to her feet. It was such a nusiance, that foggy blanket of dulled senses and numbed reflexes that followed fatigue.

Her spine tingled, and even as Berri spun around she could feel the pulsing aura of darkness. The figure was absolutely swathed in its sickening grasp. She strained to identify it's particular signature, and gasped. There was only one conclusion; It was the cloaked stranger from the mountain, the one that had tried killing Riku, but that was not what had startled her. She realized then why he had been able to sneak up on her. His signature of darkness was so startlingly similar to Riku's own that she had not even noticed it before. Now, though, when he was the only one there, she could feel the more sinister leer his aura contained; one particular trait that Riku could never accomplish.

The girl stepped back, stumbling through her still sleepy blockades, but he made no attempt to stop her or bar her way. The figure simply sighed, droning on in a monotoned voice, "I see. You recognize me. Maybe you are clever."

"What's your name?"

"None of your business, but because I am so nice; Xemnas."

"Xemnas?" Berri frowned. A freaky name, but it was one she definitely would not forget, "Why did you attack Riku like that?"

"Oh? You know his name," it was not a question, but the girl felt the need to nod a yes regardless. He was not the kind of person you wanted to have the last word, even if it meant you had to answer rhetorical questions, "we had some unfinished business. Speaking of, I came here to warn you--"

"You can save the warnings. I don't care if you think he's dangerous."

The chuckle that followed her comment was empty, but no less disturbing. He stepped forward casually, also gesturing with his hand as if to ask her to look around, "You think I care if you choose to hang around vermin? No, I am merely here to warn you against getting too..comfortable with your new companions."

Well, if he was trying to reel her in, she had taken the bait. The girl's eyes narrowed as she 'hmphed,' setting one hand against her hip, "What do you mean?"

"Your little illusion of perfection and paradise will fade away soon enough. It's time you knew."

Berri felt her anger flourish. He was leading her around in circles, but no matter how hard she tried to tell herself the truth, she could not break away. Was that how Riku had felt? Enraged past the point of rational thought? Holding on to his memory calmed the storms of her heart, and she managed to grasp what little sane piece of humanity she had left. "If you have something to tell me, say it now, or I'm leaving."

He seemed to be depressed at the coolness of her voice. Berri herself was quite surprised she had been so stoic in speaking, but it got the job done, "Your world, princess, is in dire peril," Xemnas had spat the title given to her, but she paid it no mind. "When you left to satisfy your curiosity with that silver-haired pest, you abandoned your world. There are certain worlds--hotspots that would become the perfect breeding ground for heartless--where Princessess of Heart are placed to keep the balance by keeping hordes of darkness at bay. As soon as you stepped foot off that soil, chaos broke loose. You should have looked more carefully before leaving, Princess," he sneered, and the generous smirk was all she could see of his face apart from two narrow yellow eyes, "All but one of the people you hold dear is still located in the middle of a seething pot of darkness."

"Wh--Nobody was there! They couldn't have just disappeared that quickly--"

"Ah, but you have no idea when the heartless actually arrived, correct? They had plenty of time to hide themselves before you arrived. Congratulations; you've condemned them all to oblivion."

And with that he was gone. Fury led to sadness, and that eventually pooled back into determination before the entire process started over again. How dare he..Her hands had begun to shake with absolute rage. She could not have left them all there. Berri was certain she would have known if they were hiding nearby. The sound of footsteps drew her out of her confusion, and as she turned to meet Sora and the gang, her eyes narrowed once more into scrutiny. It was not Sora approaching, but rather a girl around Berri's height. She had beautiful strawberry blond hair pinned up in an elegant sort of bun, and as the girl leaned forward to inspect the newcomer, she gasped. It was no stranger at all; it was Zee.

She wanted to smile, and knew she should, but the odd coincidence in the timing of her appearance was shocking. Instead of speaking Berri bolted forward, practically tackling the other girl to the floor with a hug.

"Zee! It's really you--I mean, you're solid and here and I can't believe it and--oh my that dress looks goregous on yo--"

"Uh, Analise? I can't breathe," her friend grinned, tears pooling at the edges of her pale blue eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Berri laughed, stepping back. Zee was actually very gorgeous. Her skin was virtually flawless, and glowed with its pale irradesence. And the dress she was wearing--it was a lovely shade of crimson red with golden-yellow stitching and trim designed to sway and flow while the dancer moved. It only made the teen feel more guilty for not making it to the performance sooner. Then maybe the heartless would not have come at all.

"Berri?" Zee frowned, setting her hands on her friend's shoulders, "Are you okay? You seem awful sad.."

"I'm alright. I guess the fact that you're actually here is just starting to sink in. I mean..what are the odds?" Berri grinned, giving the other girl one more hug before stepping back to take a good look at her, "It's just..amazing!"

Sora's voice clattered across the square, and while he must not have fully understood what was going on, he sounded just as excited as Berri, "Hey! You found her!"

Sora, Donald and Goofy jogged over, grins breaking out across their faces. "I know! Sora, Donald, Goofy--this is Zee, my best friend ever."

The girls stood grinning like fools, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders. Sora smiled, and both Berri and Zee let their jaws drop as tears slipped down his cheek. "I'm happy for you two, really,"

He wiped away at the salty streaks before giving his hair a good jolting shake. Zee smiled, ruffling his hair, "Thanks, Sora. You gave me some pretty good advice."

Berri nodded, and both she and Zee stepped forward to yank the brown-haired boy into a bear-sized grouphug, "Yeah, me too--we owe you, Sora."

Before Donald had the chance to complain, Berri and her friend chose to divide and conquer; Zee went to give Donald a hug, while the black-haired girl dove for Goofy. The two grinned, unanimously stating, "And thanks to you guys, too!"

"Oh! Zee," Berri turned to face the red-head and smiled, "I need to fill you in; Sora, Donald, Goofy and I have come up with a plan for fixing everything around here..and when we're done with that, you and I can figure out what's happening back home. Want in?"

Zee nodded once, hands sitting delicately on her hips. She always did have an air of grace about her, "Of course."

Sora and the other two excused themselves in order to 'buy more potions for the escapade' but Berri suspected they just wanted to give her and Zee a few moments alone with each other. She launched herself into a descriptive explanation of their plan, the kinds of dangers it would entail, and how glad she was she wouldn't have to encounter any of those strange organization members while worrying over whether or not Zee was safe.

Zee listened just as Berri had remembered her; quietly, calmly. She did not even stop her to ask a single question, but Berri knew at least a few would come towards the end of her little sermon-like speech. Her friend was very careful never to intterupt a train of thought, and unusually accomplished at keeping track of her own, even while absorbing new information. The redhead sighed, tucking a few loose hairs behind her ears before sitting down on the rim of the fountain. Berri had mentioned a bit about Riku after getting the 'nod' from Zee when she required a promise not to breathe a word about him to Sora, and so her friend gave her only an encouraging smile as Berri sat down, dragging the black cloak gently over her lap like a blanket.

"Well," Zee started, pursing her cherry-colored lips, "I have something to confess to you first, but then I think I have some..useful information that might make this plan of yours run a bit more smoothly, okay?"

"Of course, Zee, what is it?"

"You know about Darkness already, and I'm guessing you understand how it works, but the truth is, I've sort of opened myself up to it. The darkness inside my heart, I mean..I can control it like a weapon, and even persuade heartless to obey my commands; I know it isn't really supposed to be a good thing, but I promise I'm being really careful--You can even ask Sora. He saw me a while ago when I first started looking for you."

Berri simply grinned, using Zee's shoulder as an armrest, "That's what I love about ya, Zee. You never have trouble speaking your mind--of course I'm not going to worry about you. I know you, and I know you wouldn't do anything dangerous unless you definitely thought it would bring about some good. Okay? Don't go worrying about what I think if what you're doing feels right, got it?"

Zee smiled, but the tentative expression faded into a frown, "But what DO you think?"

"I think you're still awesome, and I trust you."

The girls grinned, sitting in silence. They were genuinely happy to have each other back, but it had been a nervewracking discovery. Sometimes leaving meant you let people change, and even though both of them had certainly become stronger in very different ways, they sensed that deep down they were still the same relentless goofballs that had spent a three-day weekend watching Star Wars movies and I Love Lucy reruns in their PJs. Old friends never really died.

Sora and the gang took the opportunity to sidle back into the square area, and Berri grinned, getting to her feet. "Alright, I think everything's ready to go--that is, if you two are all set?"

Zee stood up herself, stretching unusually limber arms up over her head, "We're all set, but you won't have to take us with you. I can open up a portal right here so by the time you've dealt with your business, Kairi, Berri and I will be safely out of harm's way. 'Kay?"

Berri turned on one heel to face her friend and smiled, "Really, Zee? That's great! I'm glad you'll be coming with me, that should make things a lot better."

Zee nodded, stepping a few paces back to prepare herself. As the group heard the familiar strain of Darkness being pulled into the atmosphere, Sora stepped forward, "Analise--take care of yourself, okay?"

She turned, eyes sparkling with a renewed fire and faith before speaking, "Of course--and, Sora? Call me Berri."

"Wha--Berri? That's you?"

She nodded, tugging at a tuft of feathery, midnight-black hair, "A nickname--short for blackberry."