This chapter follows Chelsea as she and Sora and Riku find a small house that they will share.
Chapter 53
The Secret Base
"This is amazing!" Chelsea exclaimed.
"Our own base," Riku said. He glanced over at Chelsea wondering what she was thinking.
"Before we move in, we need to check out of the hotel," Sora said.
"Yeah and I need to tell Yuffie that I found a place to stay," Chelsea added.
"Let's go in and see what the inside looks like," Riku suggested.
The three of them entered the small house. Through the door was a small living room. It was sparsely furnished with a gray couch in the center of the room. In the corner were a pile of boxes and the entire place was covered in dust. They walked into the next room and found that it was the bedroom. There was a queen sized bed in the cramped room. It was covered in gray sheets that had a few holes in them. The connecting room was the bathroom. There was a small sink that had a thick layer of dust on it, a porcelain toilet, and a small shower that desperately needed to be cleaned.
"It needs some major work, but other than that it is perfect," Sora said.
"Sure, but we need to decide one thing," Riku added.
"What's that, Riku?" Chelsea asked.
"Who shares a bed and who gets the couch," he stated.
"Oh, I never thought of that," Sora said. He elbowed Riku who stood next to him. Riku nodded in return to show that he understood.
"After I ask her," he whispered back to Sora.
"We can figure that out later," Chelsea decided. She made her way back through the bedroom and into the living room.
"We are going to need to spend a few days cleaning," Sora observed.
"Yeah, I hate seeing this place a mess," Chelsea agreed.
"Oh boy, cleaning," Riku said sarcastically.
"Hey, I like to clean. Especially when I am with friends," Chelsea defended.
"I suddenly love to clean," Riku joked. "Anyway, do you really consider us your friends? You only just met us."
"I really do. I know I only just met you, but I feel like I've known you for years," she replied.
"Man all this talk is making me miss Kairi," Sora said a little dejectedly.
"I'm really sorry," Chelsea apologized.
"Hey, I just had an idea!" Riku burst out.
"What?" Sora asked. He jumped slightly when Riku said this.
"Your hearts are connected, right?" Riku began.
"Yeah, so?" Sora asked.
"Shouldn't you be able to talk to her by concentrating on her?" Riku asked.
"It's not that easy. You see, she has to be concentrating on talking to me at the same time," Sora explained.
"Oh, sorry. I thought it may work," Riku apologized.
"It's okay," Sora replied.
"Hey, shouldn't we be heading back to the hotel?" Chelsea asked. Sora and Riku nodded in agreement.
They left their secret base and turned to the right. They walked through the door back into the Second District. They walked through the crowded streets and back to the stairs. They ascended the steps to be met with a huge throng of people.
"What is going on?" Riku asked.
"I have no clue," Sora replied. He tapped the person in front of him on the shoulder and asked, "What's going on?"
The man turned and replied, "Some guy was attacked by Heartless and apparently lost his heart."
Sora, Riku, and Chelsea pushed their way through the crowd. Lying on the ground was a man. Chelsea recognized him as the old wizard from the Potion Shoppe. He lay perfectly still. His eyes were frozen with fear.
"So that's what happens when you lose your heart," Chelsea observed.
"Yeah, if you are a strong hearted person and lose your heart, you turn into a Heartless. At the same time a Nobody is created. They are beings with no heart, but can still live like ordinary people," Sora explained.
"How do you know so much about it?" Chelsea asked.
"I once lost my heart. I gave my heart up to free Kairi's," he explained.
"So does that mean you have a Nobody?" Chelsea asked in disbelief. They were still standing next to the lifeless man.
"Yes, his name is Roxas. Kairi's Nobody is Namine. You will eventually meet them," Sora said.
"It isn't polite to call them Nobodies though. We call them others," Riku interjected.
"Wow that's really interesting," Chelsea said. She sounded very sincere about the whole topic.
"Come on, let's keep going," Sora said.
He pushed his way through the crowd. Chelsea and Riku were close behind. They made it into the clear.
"Wow, that much interest in a guy who lost his heart?" Riku asked.
"I guess most people here have never seen someone lose their heart before," Sora said.
"I don't think it's that great. I find it really terrible," Chelsea said.
"They probably do to. It's kinda like a car crash, you just can't look away no matter how much you want to," Riku stated.
They turned away at that and continued the short walk to the hotel. They entered the familiar hallway. Sora and Riku walked down the hall followed closely by Chelsea. They stopped in front of the door to Yuffie's room.
"Meet back here in ten minutes?" Riku suggested.
"Yeah, that will give me enough time to tell Yuffie," Chelsea agreed.
They each opened their respective doors. Chelsea entered Yuffie's room to find her sitting at the table with Aerith and Leon.
"Hi Chelsea," Aerith said. "What's new?"
"Not much," she answered.
"What do you mean 'not much!' You are hanging out with two hot guys!" Yuffie burst out and then added, "No offense," to Leon.
"Yeah, that's actually why I came to talk to you," Chelsea began.
"What so you mean?" Yuffie asked.
"Sora and Riku asked me to stay with them in a small house we found," Chelsea said hurriedly.
"That's great!" Aerith exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm happy for you and a little jealous. I haven't been asked to move in yet," Yuffie said. She gave Leon a little nudge.
"You know that you can't. There isn't enough room," he replied.
"I was only joking," she defended.
"So you are all right with it?" Chelsea asked.
"Yes I am. You deserve an actual bed," Yuffie answered.
"There is one more thing…" Chelsea began.
"What?" Yuffie asked.
"I may have to share a bed with Riku," Chelsea said. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
Written by Chelsea.
