Shadows of Reality
Chapter Twenty-Eight – Waiting
Never before had a gummi ship moved quicker than it did at that moment. Roxas was at the controls flying like a madman, blasting anything that came remotely close to the ship into oblivion. Riku sat beside him, urging the ship to go faster.
Sora cradled Kairi's hand in his own, a terrified look still plastered on his face. He seemed to be in some sort of shock, barely reacting to anything anyone said or did. Naminé was at his left, busy checking some nasty cuts on Kairi's thigh that she had gotten when she slid across the ground, where the blood originated. It had been a relief to all of them when they discovered the cuts, and that it wasn't her body forcing a miscarriage…yet.
Midori was on the right side of Sora with a hand on his shoulder and a guilty look on her face. She blamed herself for not searching the ship for Kairi when they had found Sora unconscious, because she was the one that was flying the gummi ship when they left. Of course, when she mentioned that, Sora had fiercely said that it wasn't true and that he was to blame for everything that happened. That was before he had gone silent.
"Where are we heading?" Sora asked weakly, not looking up.
"Radiant Garden," Naminé answered quickly. "It's closest and Aerith is the best healer we know."
He nodded and said nothing more.
"Roxas said that we're almost there," Jack Skellington said as he appeared at the door. "And to get ready to get her off the ship."
Sora seemed to snap into his senses at that moment, and reached out to her up into his arms. Naminé came forward with a blanket and wrapped it securely around her cousin before ushering him out of the room.
Everyone else waited by the door as they landed in Radiant Garden. Hayner had actually figured out the communications system and sent a message ahead about what had happened. Because of this, Aerith and Cloud were waiting for them as they touched down.
Aerith took one look at Kairi and said, "Hurry, bring her to Merlin's house."
Sora nodded and all of them rushed towards the wizard's house.
VVVVVVVVVVVV
Sora sat on the floor against the wall. He stared at the door that led to the room Kairi was in intently, blinking only when he had to in case something happened when he briefly closed his eyes.
Everyone else had given up on trying to make him move. Everyone had tried all they could think of, including death threats from Stitch and Captain Sparrow. Riku had even tried dragging him, but Sora had refused to move. Roxas was the only one who didn't say a word to his twin, because he could feel a small portion of the pain coming from Sora.
Leon and Yuffie suggested that everyone go "sightseeing" after they were all healed up, just to get their minds off of what was happening to their friend. Once again, Sora had refused to move, so everyone eventually left him alone.
He whimpered a bit as he hid his head in his hands. He begged all the gods, Santa, A Metaphor for Destiny, hell he even begged Hades, to let both Kairi and the baby be alright. He swore that he would never complain about it again, as long as he could hold his family soon. He knew that this was his fault since he had blown up at Kairi. Sure, he was frustrated, but that didn't give him the reason to completely freak out at her.
Finally the dams broke and Sora sobbed into his hands. He could take on the strongest evil, he could stand being nearly choked to death, hell he could stand dying more than once, but he couldn't stand not knowing if Kairi was okay or not.
One thing he did know though, was if Kairi and the baby weren't alright and were fading away, it would be three beings to fade from existence, not two.
Because he knew he wasn't strong enough to keep fighting without her.
VVVVVVVVVVVV
A second gummi ship slowly landed beside the haphazardly parked one. The engines died and the door slowly slid open, revealing an incredible confused King Mickey. He stared at the other gummi ship and wondered aloud, "What happened?"
"Looks like they were in a hurry," Aladdin said as he followed the king off the ship.
Genie appeared and floated around the ship quickly, inspecting it with a giant magnifying glass and a Sherlock Holmes styled hat on his head. He vanished and then appeared in front of the group that exited the ship and said, "No damage to report sir." Now he looked like a 10-foot-tall mechanic.
"You're here!"
They all looked up and saw the world's greatest female ninja, Yuffie, running towards them. Her face was anything but happy though. In fact, she seemed worried and upset.
"Gee what's wrong Yuffie?" Goofy asked her curiously.
Yuffie looked sadly at the other ship and said, "They had an emergency."
"What happened?" Donald asked as he pushed past Mulan and Simba. "Is everyone alright?"
"We don't know yet," Yuffie admitted. "Sora's a wreck and Aerith has been in a room running tests on Kairi."
"Kairi? What happened?" Simba asked with alarm.
Yuffie shook her head before saying, "They were in Halloween Town and apparently Sora and Kairi got in a fight. Kairi ran off and ran into a knight and some Endless. The rest found her and Sora was about to be killed, but Kairi stopped it somehow. That's about all I know. I didn't get even a quarter of the story. Long story short, it's not looking good for her baby right now."
"Where's Sora now?" King Mickey asked quickly.
"Waiting for Aerith to let him in to see Kairi," Yuffie explained. "We told everyone else just to go around town for a bit to try and distract themselves. I suggest you do the same for now."
Mushu stared at Mulan for a second and said, "Oh man, this is terrible."
"I know," Mulan agreed with her guardian. She then turned to Yuffie and asked, "Where is everyone else?"
"Well…"
VVVVVVVVVVVV
Jack Sparrow eyed the man in front of him with a smug look. He grinned and said, "What says you?" He was good at distracting himself from the blunt brutality of reality. He was having his fun now, but as soon as this was over he knew he would be trapped in the thoughts about his friends. He just wouldn't admit it.
"I say you're a dishonest man and I don't believe you."
"That I am mate. But remember, you can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly stupid," Jack Sparrow said before running out of the small tavern he was in.
The man who was working behind the bar blinked in surprise before looking around. It was only then that it occurred to the barman that several bottles of his rum were missing.
VVVVVVVVVVVV
Ariel sat on a large stone platform. Her eyes were closed as the wind rushed through her hair and her feet kicked back and forth in the cool salt water.
Slowly she opened her eyes and looked at the Radiant Garden's ocean. It made her smile that other worlds had oceans that looked exactly like her home. She half wondered what it looked like underneath.
Slowly she twisted around a bit and stared at a looming castle in the distance. Riku had explained to her that the water around the castle actually rushed up in rising waterfalls, but he suggested that she not go near it for now.
Ariel looked up at the sky and started singing to herself while scanning the sky, wondering where exactly her world was out there.
'What would I give to live where you are…'
VVVVVVVVVVVV
Stitch eyed his prey below him as he hung from the ceiling. He knew Radiant Garden well, after all it was the first place he had met Sora.
Carefully he crept on the ceiling as he stared at the object below him. He looked around and decided that the coast was clear. He jumped quickly, landing on the ground with on a small thump. Quickly he went to work, as he did not like the people who lived there.
A disgusting monster, that's what they called him. He was no such thing! He was cute and fluffy!
So he wanted payback, which he was going to get. He laughed evilly as he stole every left shoe that he could find. He was planning on using them to back up the sewage system for the house.
He climbed back up the wall, grinning broadly as he did so.
VVVVVVVVVVVV
Olette gasped as she stared at the large crystal protruding from the cliffs. She touched the huge glowing stones with a small smile. The last time they had been in Radiant Garden, even though it was for a few months, they hadn't explored this area, and now Olette wished that she could have seen these in a time when she wasn't worried for her friends.
Hayner watched her for a moment, studying how the glow reflected off of her eyes and on her skin. He blushed a bit before shaking his head and looking away. There was no time to think of that now.
Her frown returned to her face. As magnificent as this place was, Olette couldn't help but think of her friends back in Merlin's house. She hadn't wanted to leave Sora, but Hayner dragged her away, saying that it was best to leave him alone for now.
"I wonder what Pence is doing," Hayner said suddenly as he reached a drop-off, staring out over the landscape.
Olette broke from her thoughts and stared at him for a moment before saying, "Probably manning the computers in the palace back home. I don't think those other four could handle it."
"Maybe the green haired guy," Hayner thought aloud. "He seemed smart. But the girl and those other two…"
"Do you think she'll be alright?"
Hayner slowly met her eyes before nodding and saying, "Of course Kairi will. No enemy has beaten them yet, and nothing will. Come on, we should practice sparring while we're here."
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Olette replied after a moment of thought. "That way we can help more." She felt so ashamed for not only staying behind, but keeping Hayner behind as well. It was time for that to change.
He nodded and they started looking for a larger place to practice in.
VVVVVVVVVVVV
"Is there anyway we can make this place less confusing?" Roxas asked as they traveled through the castle. They went up and down so many lifts that he wasn't sure if up was really up, or maybe left was actually right and up was left…wait…
Roxas shook his head viciously as Naminé eyed him. He tried to grin, but it was no use. That was the first time Roxas had actually spoken since he was forced to leave his brother. He was much more connected to Sora than Namine was to Kairi for some reason, probably because of the powers Sora had (and he had a small bit of that power as well). Sora had blocked his thoughts from Roxas, and was trying to block out the emotional pain, but it was no use, Roxas could still feel his brother's despair. It made him want to break down himself.
His thoughts turned to the knight that had caused all the anguish. He knew who it was: Ventus. There was no doubt in Roxas' mind that the boy who looked so much like him was the one behind the helmet, and suddenly Roxas found himself loathing his reflection.
Still, it made him wonder why Ventus would do that. When he had visited Roxas in Sora's mind before he was helpful and friendly, nothing like the monster he was now. Something just didn't fit, and Roxas had a feeling that whatever Xehanort was planning (it was hard to guess, since he had let them all go for some strange reason), he felt that, somehow, the knights were probably victims just as much as they were.
Leon stared at the two he was guiding through the castle that would one day be their home. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he walked through a door to the library.
"Here," he said to them. "Why don't you take a rest?" He motioned to the table at the side of the room. Both nodded and Roxas took Naminé's hand, leading her over towards the chair. He sat down, expecting her to sit in the one beside him, but instead Naminé sat on his lap and hid her face in the crook of his neck.
Roxas frowned deeply. He could feel her tears and hugged her a little closer. He had to stay strong, not just for her but for Sora as well.
He looked over at Leon, who had his back to them and was staring out one of the windows. Roxas hoped that he and Naminé would live up to everyone's expectations of them when the time came for them to rule this world. This place had gone through hell and back and it deserved peace. Every world did.
Leon was aware of Roxas' eyes on him but he ignored it. Instead he stared intently out the window, his eyes appearing to be gazing at the town, but in reality his mind was much farther away.
He knew what Sora was going through. The fear of losing the person you loved was one that could not be compared. Leon knew this well. It was the reason he abandoned the name Squall. He told others that he stopped using that name because he didn't feel he lived up to the name. Squall Leonheart was the man who had let his world fall to darkness, that was what he said. In reality the reason he had let that name go was because not only had he let the darkness take Radiant Garden, but he had let it destroy the person he loved.
She had tried to hard to fight, harder than he ever could have, and she fell while fighting. Leon still remembered begging her to wake up, asking her to open her eyes. He remembered her brown hair, her deep brown eyes and her smile. Her voice, that was gone though. And slowly she was starting to fade as well. It had been too long, much too long since he had last held Rinoa.
A sound behind him drew Leon out of his thoughts. He looked over his shoulder as he saw Roxas whispering something to Naminé. She shook her head and seemed to say something, but he couldn't hear.
He smiled slightly. He could feel the power and light radiating off of both of them and knew that this world would be in safe hands in the future. This place would finally be peaceful.
Maybe then her sacrifice wouldn't be in vain.
VVVVVVVVVVVV
Riku sat on the cold cement of the Bailey. He vaguely registered that both Midori and Emiliana were with him, but he couldn't pay attention to either of them. His mind was on his friends. He prayed that Kairi and the baby pulled through. If the baby died then both Kairi and Sora would be miserable, and if both died then he had no doubt that Sora would follow behind them.
"I don't see what's so depressing," Emiliana muttered. "So what, she freaked out and might be having a miscarriage. It happens."
Midori whipped around and said, "What was that?"
"I'm just saying, it was her own fault," Emiliana shot back. "She shouldn't have come prancing around the worlds with us and—"
SMACK!
Riku now turned around and stared with wide eyes. Emiliana was on the ground and already a bruising handprint appeared on her face. Midori stood above her with the hand that she had slapped the other girl with outstretched. Midori looked positively livid, and Riku had to look on in horror as suddenly she didn't look as much like Midori, but rather Crysita in Midori's cloths.
She shook with anger and screamed, "How dare you? You horrible bitch! Kairi could die or her baby could die and all you can say is 'it's her fault'." Midori (she couldn't truly be Crysita at the moment, since she was defended Kairi, could she?) put her hand down, but her Keyblade materialized in it. "I should ram this through your non-existent heart!"
"Midi!" Riku yelled out and grabbed her arm. "Stop."
"You're telling me to stop?" she screamed. "You heard what she said!"
"And I think she deserved the slap and maybe more," Riku snapped back. "But you're not going to kill her!" In reality, if she killed Emiliana at that moment, he wouldn't care. No, he wasn't worried about the brunette, he was worried about her. If she did something so terrible, could it bring Crysita back? Could it turn her into the part of her that Midori was so ashamed about?
Midori jerked her arm away from him, thinking that he was defending Emiliana, and said, "If Sora was here he would have killed her without a second thought. She is just like her." With that Midori turned and started running back to Merlin's place. Thankfully her hair slowly changed back into it's normal raven color as she disappeared around the corner.
Riku sighed as Emiliana got off of the ground. She smiled at him and tried to hug him, but Riku pushed her away roughly.
"Never," he snarled. "Say anything like that about my friends, or I won't stop her next time." He turned and followed Midori, leaving a shocked and angry Emiliana behind.
He found the raven-haired woman speaking to three others. He recognized them vaguely but he wasn't sure how…
The one with the blond hair looked up. Her eyes widened and she said, "Hey! Riku! My name buddy!"
"Your name buddy?" he asked with confusion. He stared at her for a moment before realization hit him. "Rikku? How did—weren't you a sprite the last time I saw you?"
"We all were!" she said happily with throwing an arm around both Yuna and Paine. "But shortly after you guys left we were trying to take some potions we found in Maleficent's old castle."
"They spilt on us, and when Leon and the others found us we were like this," Yuna informed them while twirling around.
"You guys must be around the same age we are," Midori observed.
"Oh!" Yuna clapped her hands together. "That means I'm the same as Tidus!"
Midori smiled slightly before frowning deeply when she saw Emiliana coming down the road. She glared at Riku and said, "Take your whore and go. I don't want to hear her talking about Kairi anymore." And she stormed off…again.
"Midori, wait!" he yelled out to her, but he didn't chase after her. He was pretty sure that his presence would only make things worse for her.
"What happened?" Paine asked.
"Well…"
VVVVVVVVVVVV
"Hey Sora."
He slowly glanced up, and King Mickey shuddered at the dead look in his eyes, but he said nothing about it.
Sora expected the tiny King to tell him to get up and that everything was going to be ok. He expected Donald and Goofy to rush around the corner like nothing was wrong, hell he expected the sky to fall on him right now, but, for some strange reason, none of that happened.
Instead King Mickey sat beside him in silence for a moment before saying, "I've been the King of Disney for a long time Sora, and I understand things are not easy. You know, it's going to be hard for Minnie and I to have an heir? Almost nearly impossible."
Sora glanced over at him.
"It's because she actually was with child once, but she was hurt badly and it died. It'd take a miracle now, but I believe that when this is over that the miracle will happen eventually. I won't give up hope."
Sora nodded a bit as he wiped some tears out of his eyes. King Mickey had gone through the exact same thing he was going through now, with one of the worst outcomes possible.
"I'm—I'm sorry."
"No need to be," the King said with a sad smile. "It was along time ago. Minnie sometimes still cries over it though, but I stay strong for her. The hurt, it doesn't go away, but if we're strong and there for each other, we can rise above it. I'm not the only one who suffered around that time. Donald and Goofy also suffered great losses, but we all need to stay strong. Be strong for her Sora, no matter the outcome."
He nodded weakly before he heard a door open. His head whipped around as he watched the door to Kairi's room open painfully slow. He felt as if he was waiting for eternity, but in reality it had been about three hours.
He jumped to his feet, as did King Mickey, as Aerith looked at him. She smiled slightly and said, "She'll be fine."
Relief flooded through Sora before he asked, "The baby?"
"Is alive," Aerith confirmed.
King Mickey smiled and patted Sora's hand before saying, "Be thankful Sora. This is your miracle, don't waste it." With that he turned and left Sora alone with Aerith, respecting his privacy about his family.
Aerith watched the King go before her smile vanished. "The King's right about it being a miracle Sora. That child is lucky to be alive."
"What happened?" Sora asked, his eyes flickering to the open door and back to her.
"It's stress that's the real danger now," Aerith explained. "She started stressing and had a panic attack and that was before she was thrown twenty meters and hitting the ground. She's very lucky Sora."
He took a deep breath and asked, "What can we do?"
"She can't go with you anymore," Aerith said firmly. "I won't let her leave this world unless you're going straight back home. That is the only instance she can leave. Actually, it'd be best if she stayed in bed for now on. Too much physical activities, including just walking, could stress her body too much. "
Sora nodded quickly before looking back at the room, "We only have two more Keybearers to find. We'll find them and then bring Kairi back home. Aerith, will you…"
She nodded and said, "I'll come with you when you start heading back home. To keep an eye on her. Now go see her."
Sora smiled and thanked her before walking into the room. Kairi was asleep on the bed, but her face looked peaceful compared to the horrified look that had been stuck on her face earlier.
He sat beside her and took her hand; kissing her forehead lightly and whispering, "Don't scare me like that again, ok?"
He then leaned down and rested his head gently on her stomach and said, "And you, don't worry. I'll make sure to take better care of your mommy so you'll be ok too. I'm sorry, I was scared before and I wasn't ready for a baby, but don't worry, I'll be here for you and your mommy now, ok? I'm sorry about what I said. You might not have been planned or expected in any way, shape or form, but you're not a mistake. No, you'll never be a mistake."
If he had looked up he would have seen a grin appear on Kairi's face as he continued talking to their unborn child for the first time.
VVVVVVVVVVVV
Author's Note
-smiles insanely- I got SO many comments about how I am evil. It's great! Makes me smile.
Really though, did you all expect me to actually kill the baby then and there? Er…some of the people who read my HP fics would scoff at that, because I seemed to kill someone every few chapters there.
Still, Kairi's not out of the woods yet.
Shire Folk – Best reaction ever!! Am I redeemed now since I didn't kill the baby yet?
Chiglet663 – How could I? It was pretty easy, because I can be rather ruthless with characters when I'm writing and not feel bad. Thank you, I'm glad you think I'm good at writing.
Syrena Li – Nope, no giving birth early yet. That's a lot of oh nos. What does Emi have to do with anything? You always work her into your reviews…Sora didn't mean to say everything he did, he just freaked right out because he was so stressed. The truth hurts, it's a fact that we all have to live with. People commented before saying 'omg, the cliffhangers are killer' and even then I warned that no, it wasn't and that I could write better cliffs.
The Key of Hope – When I went sliding we had tubes, and I hit a bump and flipped into the air. Looking back it was hilarious to think about, because I actually flew off of the thing, flipped in the air, hit the tube and bounced into the snow, but I hurt my neck pretty badly, so it was no funny then. I love cliffhangers. Writing them at least.
Iaveina – Crysita is more of an active force in Midori than anyone would like to think. Not as much as Roxas and Namine were to Sora and Kairi, but she's still there and is stronger when Midori has strong negative feelings. Hey hey, no more making fun of Org XI. I…umm…wrote that cause I wasn't counting Axel and Roxas…yeah…I'm joking. Yes, that was a very low blow. That's why I used Ventus for this instead of Terra or Aqua. Imagine if I decided to make him take off his helmet? Every time Sora would look at Roxas he would think it was Ventus. Oh, you should be afraid. I don't mind ridding my stories of already established characters, so getting rid of one that hasn't even been introduced yet…no biggy.
Catharsis25 – Yes I am evil. Ew, I wouldn't touch a fly! Disgusting creatures. I like squirrels! They shall rule the world. …Although when I was little I did boot a dog across the yard…but it was trying to bite me so fair is fair. LMAO I'll take the "Damn. Your good." Comment as a complete compliment!
Khfan forlife – Another evil comment! Hey, you never know, if my Mac decides to die (which it won't, I hope) I'm pretty sure that I'd loose everything. What I have written IS backed up…somewhere…but that's not the point. I'm honored that you've reviewed this story more than some others!
Katamere – Yes, she was being stupid, but she's frustrated, and can't always think straight due to emotions. At least she admits she was being a drama queen. I don't know…my mom around Christmas time is pretty bad….then again…so am I because we start decorating, making cookies and stuff just after Remembrance Day. XD Hey, I already bought and wrapped all of my presents. Now I don't have to worry about anything else…except for the 5 huge projects I have to do at school…
simplyjennxD - …so what you're trying to say is that I better not kill the baby? Again, our stories don't clash to bad unless Endless, Midori, Mickey Mouse and Keyblades randomly show up in yours. No no, the baby IS definitely Sora's, the knight was just being an ass and trying to distract him. Ventus is an asshole.
Oberon Axelus – No one told me anything when I was 15 either, but you see I was the quite kid who always got in the 90 to 100 range on tests, so people who gossiped a lot always just blabbed on around me, not thinking I was listening. Ohh the blackmail I could have used…Rum is ok but I like vodka better XD fine, you can have the peanut, but I get the hazelnuts that are covered in chocolate and caramel. Best things ever!!
Chasingfireflies – That's ok, I figured you were just being a gemlin when you didn't review. As you've seen the baby is not dead…yet. I heard that originally Zac Efron was supposed to take Johnny Depp's place, but most people thought Disney was on crack so they decided 'N-Ox10000000000.9' and instead want him as a background character. If he is, I hope he is a one legged or eye person! Hmmm, if you want some help with different ideas or suggestions you can always email me, or Holly…she comes up with great ideas, she just doesn't like writing as much. It can't be the apocalypse, that's supposed to happen on December 21, 2012…give or take. But yeah, I want you to update so if you need any help just ask!
DAN88 – Ummmm. I don't remember reading a review, but if I just missed replying to you, I'm so sorry! Forget stress, if the baby goes then Kairi falls into depression, and if she falls into depression then Sora does, and since Sora and Roxas are connected so strongly Roxas would feel it, and then the chain would end with Naminé. But all their friends would feel miserable too!!
MoonlightxxDream – No problem, I had to be corrected about the right info about 10 times too. Actually I know why his feet are so big. It's a tribute to Disney's original style. Actually Sora wasn't even the original main character, Mickey Mouse was. That's why Sora's cloths in the first one resembled Mickey's (red pants, white gloves and yellow shoes). Sora does a sort of super jump in the second game…if you can level up valor form all the way. He goes from that little whimpy hop to like WOOSH, half ways up the building!
Trainalf – Not yet, but maybe later, you'll just have to wait and see. Reading the prequel is a tiny bit important, but most people could do without…except for when it comes to Midori…
Thank you for all the great(amusing) reviews!! Super-sugar-christmas-cookies for all!...seriously…I made those by accident today…
Ummm…yeah for now on I'm only going to be putting small replies here, since it's taking up so much room, but don't worry, I'll have bigger replies and rants to send email wise.
Krystal Lily Potter
