MoM DEMO COMES OUT TOMORROWWWWW!
I will try to get another chapter up, if I can pull myself away from the demo…
Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!
My OCs © to me!
Other OCs © to their respective owners!
Chapter 35: Nothing but the Truth
"Lemme see! Lemme see!"
"Calm down, Stella." Vallis laughed as he held his girlfriend back from tackling Kairi.
Kairi walked into the base's training room where all her friends awaited. "Have you been waiting all this time?"
Cat shook her head. "Only when Stella told us you were coming back."
"Now show us!" Lucky cheered.
Kairi laughed before holding out her hand.
In Twilight Town, Xion motioned for everyone to hurry as Kairi stood before her friends in the other worldline.
Riku smiled as Kingdom Key-Q appeared in her hand, shining in the light.
"Wow!"
"It looks so regal!"
"What's it called?"
"Kingdom Key-Q" Kairi said, running her hand along the paopu fruit on the blade.
"Q?"
The girl grinned. "For queen."
"Oh my gosh YES!" Lucky bounced from one foot to the other. "You are a queen!"
"Stop it!"
"I mean it!"
Jiminy pushed up his hat with a smile. "Well, whatdaya know, her Keyblade turned out like Sora's."
"I mean, she is practically his queen." Lea smirked.
"True."
Riku smiled. "They are part of each other's lives forever now. This Keyblade is just another proof of that."
"So, when are you rescuing Sora?"
Kairi dismissed her weapon. "I want to help you deal with the LLE first. Sora would want that… he'd rather me help my friends first and then help him, I know it."
Donald nodded. "Sounds like him."
"Sounds good." Yozora smiled. "Stella, any word on who hacked your systems?"
The blonde girl sighed. "No… but I double and triple checked everything. My system was flawless. The only way I think they could've gotten in is by accessing my computer in person."
Vallis crossed his arms. "So that means whoever it was had to get into base and into her room. The most likely scenario is someone within the military itself."
Kairi bit her lip. Just like that Master of Masters guy said. She glanced around at all her friends. The master's words about trusting no one ringing in her ears.
Trust no one.
That included him.
"Have you checked the security camera feed?"
"Of course," Stella said, "but the thing is, this person has looped camera feed well before. So, I don't trust the camera feed."
"Smart."
Aiko tapped her chin. "Well, if this person is in with the LLE and possibly the leader then most likely they have a reason to want the door gone. So, our culprit is probably someone who lost something very special to the giga attack."
"Ai, that is a very long list." Cid spoke up.
"I know, but we can narrow it down to people who are in the military or has access to this building. That includes janitorial staff, and even government officials that have access." Aiko looked across the group. "We should start with those who have criminal pasts, even though that list is small, but it's a place to start. Understood?"
"Yes, general!"
Kairi smiled. The master may have said not to trust, but everyone in this room she trusted, Magia maybe less than others currently, but she trusted them.
Stella and Lucky bounded over, giggling. "So, tell us about this Keyblade! Let us see it again!"
Kairi laughed and summoned it again. "Well, the blade looks like Sora's Keyblade. His is called Kingdom Key, but the crown on his is different."
"Yours looks like a queen chess piece." Magia observed.
"Fitting for the name."
Stella pointed to the two fruit on the guard. "What are those?"
"Those are paopu fruit." Kairi smiled softly. "They're magical fruit from my home. If two people share them, they will remain a part of each other's lives no matter what. Sora and I shared the fruit before he died."
The blonde girl seemed to melt. "Oh! It's so romantic!"
Aegis pointed to the red ribbon wrapping around the handle and blade. "Going off the romantic motif that it has, this probably stands for the red string of fate."
"Red string of fate?"
"It's a mythical string that connects two fated lovers together. It just proves you and Sora are a dream couple!"
Kairi giggled, dismissing her Keyblade.
Yozora smiled, pausing for a moment. He pulled out his phone, narrowing his eyes as he read a message.
"Everything ok?"
"Well, Magia, Aegis, Kairi, if you had plans tonight cancel them."
"Why?"
"My father." The prince sighed. "He wants us to come for dinner, and he sent the message in that formal way."
Magia grimaced. "You mean the 'sounds nice but means to get your butts over here right now' formal?"
"Yep."
"Crap."
Oh no. Clenching her fists she groaned. "Do you think it has something to do with today?"
"Yep."
"But how did he know?"
"Cameras probably."
Dang.
This was going to be messy…
Awkward didn't even begin to describe the atmosphere at the dinner table. Not one word had been spoken since they'd arrived. The king didn't even say hi.
He knew.
He knew what they did.
"Father." Yozora broke the silence.
"You know why I asked you here. Why did you, with the help of my close friends commit an illegal act and access the door!?"
Across the table, Phinehas cringed visibly. Dylan and Hoshiko glanced at one another nervously.
No one spoke.
"It was because of me."
"Kairi, hold on."
"No." The girl snapped. "It was because of me, and I'll own up to it. If anyone is taking the fall for it, it has to be me."
Hayate relaxed a little into his chair. "Thank you for taking responsibility. Now explain please."
Kairi clenched her fists in her lap. "Well, I never went down there for the door. Never touched the door once actually. I just needed the magic around the door."
"For?"
"To forge a new Keyblade since… since mine broke."
Hayate raised an eyebrow. He was the only one to not know about this. "Your Keyblade broke? Why didn't you say anything? I would've let you use the magic around the door if that was the case?"
"I thought you might be angry. So, we did our best not to let you find out."
"How many of you were in on this?"
"Well," she counted on her fingers, "the four of us, Phinehas, Hoshiko, Dylan, Aiko, Cid, Lucky, Stella, Val-"
Waving his hand, the king sighed. "Never mind. Basically everyone but me." He folded his hands in front of him. "Now, I understand your reasoning, and I'll let you all have a pass on this one, even though technically all of you broke the law by doing this, but now something else is bothering me. If you kept this from me, what else are you keeping?"
Kairi could feel Phinehas, or rather the master, staring right at her. His words echoed in her mind.
Don't trust anyone.
Screw that.
But, if she was to be honest… it was time to be totally honest.
"Alright. I'll tell you all the full truth. There are some things I haven't told anyone because I wasn't supposed to." She turned her head, her eyes meeting Phinehas'. "But, I trust all of you."
His face didn't move, but something in his eyes changed. He knew she didn't trust him.
So, she began to tell them.
"The reason I came here to Tokyo was not for any other reason but a selfish one, but since I arrived that has changed. I came here for Sora. And the Sora I mean doesn't just share the same name as the person Yozora spoke of; they are the same. I came here to rescue him from beyond the door. But now, I not only plan on doing that, but I plan on saving Maris as well. And I will close that door and seal it."
Glancing around, she gauged everyone's reactions. Hayate's eyes did narrow some, but he didn't say anything.
"I could've saved him today, but there is still the threat of the LLE. When I save Sora, I will be going home too. The LLE are still a danger to this world and I want to help fight them before I do anything selfish, and I know Sora would want me to do the same."
"And how did your Keyblade break." Kairi flinched at the king's harsh tone.
He wasn't happy with her.
"Well-"
Yozora raised his hand. "That was on me. When Frode used me to attack the base, he… I broke it in combat."
"It had been cracked for some time." Kairi admitted, "It first cracked when Aegis broke my legs. Since then, it's only cracked further, and it finally broke."
"I didn't think Keyblades could break so easily."
The girl sighed. "It was reflecting the state of my heart. I was broken, hurting, fragile. And so was my Keyblade."
Hayate's face softened at this. "You were afraid?"
"Afraid doesn't begin to cover all the emotions I've had."
The king nodded slowly. "Kairi. I am not happy that you kept this from me, but I guess I can understand. I wanted my son to leave the Sora matter alone, and I thought he had, but it appears that he just hid it beneath his want to find Maris. And speaking of her, I'm assuming your assistance is why we can now recall her."
"I guess so."
Yozora rolled his eyes. "We wouldn't have been able to do it without you. Give yourself some credit."
"Then yes. I helped."
"And for that," Hayate smiled, "I guess we owe you a great debt. And because of that, I will forgive the deceit as long as you continue down this path that you claim, not just for you but for all of us."
Kairi smiled back. "Of course!"
"Now, I hope there are no other secrets."
"Well…"
"Oh no."
Kairi averted her eyes. "Remember how you asked me to marry Yozora. There's a very good reason I said no, besides the fact that I'm taken. Thing is, Aegis put down my age as eighteen. But I'm seventeen."
"Wha-" The king coughed on his drink. "You are underage!?"
"Yes."
Pushing up his glasses, Aegis explained. "She couldn't join the military at seventeen, so I changed it without her knowledge."
Wiping his mouth, the king hung his head. "I asked a seventeen-year-old to marry my twenty-year-old son… I am so very sorry Kairi. I would've never done that if I'd known."
"It's alright. You didn't know."
Phinehas clapped his hands. "Wow… that was a lot of new info, but w-"
"But Phinehas." Kairi pointedly said. "You haven't heard the best part. And being such a Keyblade lover that you are, you must hear it."
Yes, she was rubbing her trust in his face.
Yes, she was enjoying it.
"What else!" Dylan laughed.
Well, time to drop the bomb.
Wasn't planning on this one, but she figured it was best to be totally transparent. And, it would really mess with Phinehas.
"I never explained where I'm actually from. I'm not just from some far away island. I'm from another worldline."
The room froze.
"Worldline?"
"You may call it an alternate reality."
The room exploded.
Dylan nearly leapt across the table. "ARE YOU SERIOUS!? YOU'RE FROM AN ALTERNATE WORLD!?"
"Well that explains a lot." Aegis huffed.
"Dude!" Magia gaped. "You should've told us this sooner!"
"I wasn't supposed to, but I figured that if I was going to be honest, you needed to know the whole truth. But, this does not leave this room. Alright?"
"Who would believe us anyways!?"
"Please tell us, what is your worldline like!? How is it different!?"
"So that's how come you never helped us before!"
Kairi laughed, glancing over at Phinehas. In all the confusion, he sat silent.
But he didn't seem angry.
He smiled.
Smiled and shook his head.
Time would tell if he was happy with her or not. And if not, what would that bring about…
"Do you think we should be doing this?" Xion held a piece of paper in her hands. "Terra said the guy was suspicious."
Aqua nodded. "He knows something about Keyblade wielders, so we need to find out more about him."
"Guess you're right." Xion slipped the note where the mysterious boy told them too.
Who knows when he'd be back…?
She and Aqua walked away. But, as soon as they vanished from sight, Gula warped in. He pulled the letter out, reading it slowly.
"Hmm… OW!"
Something clamped down on Gula's sock and shoe, nicking his leg. He looked down to see a dog.
"Hold him, Kosho!"
Out of the trees came a man with blue hair, followed by the one he heard called Riku, then Terra, and then a guy with flaming red hair.
Gula chuckled. "Should've seen this coming. Ow. Now call off your dog."
"No." Another voice. Gula glanced around.
Surrounded by everyone from the mansion.
"Who are you?" Terra barked.
"I'm… no one special."
"Bull."
"Fine." Gula shrugged. "I'm… a leopard then."
"Stop playing games. Who are you?"
The boy let out a long sigh. "Look. I get that you don't trust me, and I really understand. I was told to trust no one but myself, so I really do get it. But you don't have to trust me. Just answer my questions and I might be able to help you. I think I'm on your side. Not sure yet though."
"Sounds like me back in the day." Muttered the man with bright red hair.
"Why do you need this information?"
"You can ask all those questions in the next note." Gula smirked before warping away. Kosho yelped in surprise as his quarry vanished.
Donald stomped his food. "He got away!"
"Might be on our side…?" Riku mused. "Something about him seems off, but I don't know if he's evil or not."
"Evil, maybe. Mischievous, definitely." Isa huffed as he fed Kosho a treat. "Either way, we need to get more information, or he could be a problem."
True.
The question was… how?
We are so close to the eeeeeend! I'm so excited you guys!
Hope you enjoyed!