Chapter 25: The land of the Dead Part 2

A lot of things then happened for the next few hours. Kairi and Ventus were still glowing hearts flying around, only seeing what was going throughout their adventure with Miguel and Hector. First there was the talent show and Miguel and Hector sang together on stage. Then there was the reveal that Miguel's family was looking for him. They both spilt up and Kairi and Ven had no choice but to follow the boy, although out of sight. They then witnessed how Miguel entered De La Cruz's Palace, and there, the boy learned the awful truth. De La Cruz was a manipulative individual who killed another for the songs. Every song that De la Cruz sang were not originally from him, but rather from his partner who wrote the lyrics. After this awful discovery, De La Cruz throws Miguel in a large pit with Hector, out of reach of other civilians.

"This is terrible! Curse this glowing orb I'm in!" cried Ventus.

"What can we do?' asked Kairi worriedly.

"There is only one thing we can do. We must find Miguel's family and save him with Hector. That is the only way." said Ventus.

"Sounds easy enough." said Kairi.

"Without my Keyblade, I'm useless. Sora better not have that kind of trouble out there." said Ventus.

"Oh Sora. I wonder where he is now." said Kairi dreamily.

"I'm hoping you get to see my baby brother soon. But now, we must find a way to help our friends." said Ventus.

Just then, a dark shadow appeared and took Ventus with his own fist! Kairi screamed and Ventus cursed under his breath. Vanitas himself was standing there, holding Ven.

"Are you dead yet?" asked Ven losing his breath.

"I am caught between life and death brother. Here I am in the flesh ready to take you away to hell." said Vanitas.

"Let him go! Or else!" cried Kairi.

"Save yourself Kairi! Go away! Find Miguel's family! Do that!" cried Ventus.

"Miguel? Don't tell me you made friends in this world? How pathetic. You two are nothing but mere glowing balls of gas floating around for nothing." said Vanitas.

"Your coldblooded." said Kairi.

"Thank you babe. I try." said Vanitas sarcastically. Kairi wanted to take a better look at his face, but it was concealed away by the pitch black mask Vanitas was wearing.

"I will leave you here. I bet that will drive Sora crazy knowing his chick is here with dead." said Vanitas as he laughed like a wild child and vanished into the darkness with Ven!

"Ven! No!" cried Kairi.

Just then, a large lion like Alebrije flew into the air and stood by where Miguel was with Hector. Kairi felt powerless and useless. Ven was gone, and so was her mission to help Miguel and Hector. She felt defeated right then and there.


Kairi returned to the heart. She reunited with her physical body, if she would call it that, and Ventus was no where to be found. He was taken away. Kairi, now in her body sat by the edge of the glowing platform and began to sob. She cried loudly, hoping someone would hear her in the abyss she was in. She felt helpless and lost. But then, out of nowhere, Kairi felt a soft and warm hand on her shoulder. Kairi turned around quickly and saw an old woman with a soft smile and a friendly face.

'Who are you?" asked Kairi.

"I'm your Grandmother dear." replied the old woman.

"My Grandma? But how are you here? And... this can't be real." said Kairi.

"I am just as real as the souls you encountered in the Land of the Dead." said Kairi's Grandmother.

"I can't believe your here." said Kairi with a small smile. She wanted to get up and hug her, but she couldn't. She felt powerless.

"Do you remember that story I told you ages ago?" asked Kairi's Grandmother.

"How could I forget that story." said Kairi.

"You may have lost your way. But not entirely. You wanted to help Ven. But the situation was not in your control. Don't worry. For you see, light finds a way to help those in need." said Kairi's Grandomother. In that moment, Kairi had a special weapon in her hand. Her very own Keyblade!

"What on Earth is that?!" cried Kairi.

"A family heirloom passed from generation to generation. Now Kairi, it is yours. Go back to the Land of the Dead. Save the boy, Miguel. The Darkness is coming after him..." said Kairi's Grandmother...


Kairi returned to the land of the dead, as a person. Not a heart anymore. She ran into the streets, attracting the attention of other skeleton folk. As she was running, she saw a large colorful lion like Alebrije, carring a whole family and on it was Miguel himself. Kairi let out a sigh of relief. She followed them as fast as her legs carried her, hoping to catch up to the giant spirit creature.

Kairi eventually arrived in what appeared to be a large Coliseum. It was full of people or skeleton folk sitting down waiting for a show. She sneaked inside the building hoping to catch a glimpse of Miguel. But instead as she was walking around, hoping to find a way inside the place, she heard screaming. She looked up and saw Miguel falling! Kairi screamed in anguish, but was taken aback when the Alebrije caught him in time. Something big was going up in the building. She looked around, hoping to see a stair way of some sort to reach the top. She ran in circles until she saw a door that led her backstage! As she entered, she heard the booing and screaming of the skeleton folk. By some sort of miracle, De La Cruz, the famous singer was now hated by his once loyal fans!

"Am I too late or what?" thought Kairi to herself. Eventually, she saw when the Alebrije appeared and De La Cruz began to scream. The creature picked him up and let him go. Eventually, the cowardly De La Cruz landed under a large bell and it fell right on top of him, eerily copying the same way he died in the human world. Kairi felt late for the whole thing, but something was not sitting right in her bones.

"I came here for a reason. I feel like something is going to happen." said Kairi to herself. Just then, a dark shadow appeared behind her.

"Princess Kairi!" said the old voice of Old Man Xehanort.

"You! I know you! Your Xehanort! You destroyed our island and you took Ven away! Where is he! I know that kid in the mask is your servant!" cried Kairi.

"Fiery spirit you are my dear. Yes, it appears you are late for the party. You see, Miguel's story continues, with or without you. You and Ven were just a memory right now. Miguel has forgotten all about you. Do you wish to know why? His Great Grandfather is about to die for good!" cried Xehanort.

"No! You can't do that!" cried Kairi as she got her Keyblade in defense. Xehanort didn't look surprised.

"It appears that now a days, anyone can have a Keyblade. Even old me." said Xehanort. He then snapped his fingers and the ground began to shake.

"What are you doing?" asked Kairi.

"No one can die here in this world. If you vanish, you cease to exist and so will the heart. You see, this world is powered by the memories and hearts of family members from the other side. If one were to forget you by death, the heart from that memory will go into some sort of limbo. A tragic fate for such a tragic world. And right about now, there is one heart here that needs to expire. It is none other but yours my dear." said Xehanort. And with that, a giant Heartless appeared and attacked Kairi.


A few days later, Kairi found herself in the heart of Sora again. She was defeated by Xehanort. And the Heartless that attacked her sent her back here, in chains. Kairi was trapped. She felt lost and afraid once again. But something did happen that also gave Kairi some ease. After Kairi was on the ground, defeated, Xehanort gave her a choice. He allowed her to escape through a portal, back to the human world. But by doing that, he was going to hurt the Skeleton People in the Land of the Dead. They were already dead, but that meant whatever pain Xehanort had planned for them would have hurt them for eternity. She didn't want to think of it. She gave herself in for the safety of the world and she made the old man promise not to touch the world. He gave her his word. But she wasn't so sure what was going on out there.

Just then, out of nowhere Kairi felt a hand touch her shoulder. "Oh Grandma. I'm so sorry I failed you." said Kairi as she looked up. But the woman that was there was not Kairi's Grandmother. It was an entirely new old Lady that Kairi has never seen before. She got up and looked at the strange old woman with a warm smile.

"You must be Kairi. It's a pleasure to meet you at last my dear." said the old woman.

"Do I know you?" asked Kairi.

"No. But you knew my Grandson. I'm Coco, Miguel's Great Grandmother." said the old lady.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't realize who you were." said Kairi.

"I came here to tell you that what you did was the bravest thing ever my dear. The Land of the Dead is where I'm going right now. You see, my time in the mortal world has passed. And I am on my way home to my family. But as I was walking down the path to light, I walked into your Grandmother and she told me what you did. Miguel also told me about you and your brother. He was very worried." said Coco.

"Miguel remembered me? I thought he forgot about me." said Kairi.

"Oh no child. He told me about his adventures in the Land of the Dead, and how he met you and Ven was it? He told me about you two and how you were seperated by De La Cruz. A whole lot of things have happened there, but I was thrilled to know you were here in this heart." said Coco.

"This heart is my safe haven for now. But one day, I'll be out there someday." said Kairi.

"The Keyblade you hold my dear... it is not powerful just yet. To Unlock it's power, you will need the power of waking. And only one has the key. Your true love." said Coco.

Kairi blushed. "My true love?" asked Kairi.

"The one who kept you safe in his heart... he will save you. And when he does, your Keyblade will be at it's powerful form." said Kairi.

"How do you know so much?" asked Kairi.

Grandmother Coco then held out her hand and a large golden Keyblade with decorative flowers and honey bees was materialized.

"You did what I should have done long ago. You saved my family. Now I will go in peace. Thank you." said Grandma Coco as she gave Kairi a kiss on her forhead.

After she vanished, Kairi was left with a feeling of satisfaction. She did save one world from Xehanort. At least one. Now all she had to do was wait and pray for both Sora and Ven.