They were trapped, mere feet from the castles entrance. Donald and Goofy stood on either side of Kairi, trying to destroy the heartless that surrounded them all while attempting to keep her safe. She had never felt so useless in what she could remember of her life. No weapon, no magic, nothing. Now she really wished she had joined Sora and Riku in their sparring matches.
Shadows circled them, their jesterlike feet silent on the floor. She involuntarily stiffend, waiting for the attack. When they finally struck they did it fast. She barely had time to scream before she was knocked to the ground and darkness encircled her vision once more.
Sound became muffled, the voices of Donald and Goofy calling her name seemed so far away. breathing hurt as her eyes quickly became heavy. Blindly she reached out, calling for help into the inky blackness. But no help came.
Her strength rapidly fading and the voices no longer reaching her she allowed her eyes to close, and her hand to fall back to float by her side as she let the darkness retake her. This time there was no way for her to be saved. She could be reunited with her friends.
Then something strange happened.
She felt a pair of hands pick her up and hold her against a chest, a chest that felt so warm and safe. Fingers brushed her bangs to the side as her eyes slowly opened to the point they were half lidded. Though she couldn't see who it was something in her heart told her she knew who it was. Without thinking her lips moved on their own, air whisping through them, "Sora."
The body holding her shifted as though laughing, an amused voice speaking in her head, "Come on Kairi, you can't give up already." What felt like a hand placed itself upon her right hand, a weight forming on that palm. Before she had time to register it a bright light began to fill her vision. Gasping she closed her eyes, the darkness fading around her, sleep encompassing her again, all the while the mysterious figure continued to speak.
"Don't worry, you won't be alone."
Sound returned slowly. Along with it was a suffocating pressure in her chest, as though something were keeping air from reaching her lungs. Her eyes shot open as she gasped for breath, lungs soaking in as much air as they could. It was once she could finally breath again that she sat up and registered voices near her. There in front of her were Soras new friends, and they were looking at her with worried expressions on their faces.
Her voice felt strangely weak as she spoke, "Donald? Goofy?"
The relief on their faces was immediate. She almost found herself back on her backside as they hugged her.
"You're okay!"
"Thank goodness!"
She blinked, slowly sitting up as they gave her room. Her mind not quite awake just yet she slowly looked around. Finding signs that they were still in middle of the room with the fountain and stairs she looked back at the two, "What happened?"
She heard Donald huff, "Why don't you tell us. The heartless were covering you, and then there was a bright light and then they were all gone."
"There was?" Why did it feel like there was a weight in her right hand?
It was Goofy who answered that as he noticed something she hadn't. With a startled tone in his voice, he pointed at her hand, "Kairi look at what you got there!"
Confused she looked down to her hand only to gasp in surprise. There in her right hand was the weapon that Sora had been using throughout his journey, his keyblade. Her voice was barely a whisper, "But how?"
That was when they heard it, the scritch scratching of more clawed heartless coming to where they were. Looking back up the stairs they found more heartless looming atop, looking down at them, slowly making their way towards the three. Before she even knew it Donald and Goofy were both standing in front of her, weapons drawn as they braced themselves for the inevitable battle.
They didn't have to do anything however, as before the heartless had made it halfway down the steps a bestial figure was on top of the creatures of darkness, claws ripping them apart.
Fear pounded her heart against her chest, her legs refused to move. If it could do that to the heartless, what could it do to her? Would she be torn apart just as quickly?
"Go!" The figure roared.
Huh?
She could feel Goofy pull on her arm, silently drawing her towards the exit. As she began to move she saw Donald call up to it.
"Beast, come with us!"
She blinked. Did they know that thing? Does that mean she can trust it?
"I told your friend earlier!" It yelled down at them, "I'm not leaving without Belle!"
Belle? She was so very confused. Just what was going on?
She felt a pair of feathered hands on her other arm. Looking down her eyes met with Donald's concerned ones.
"Come on Kairi, let's go."
Her head moved in the motion of a nod without her thinking, "R-right."
Adrenaline pushing blood back through her veins she turned and ran with the two out through the giant double doors onto the balcony.
(khkhkhkhkh)
"So it's gotten worse."
Now in Traverse Town the duo and Kairi found themselves in a building in the world's third district with the friends the two had made there. It was Leon who had spoken, the frown on his face seeming to deepen.
The sound of conversation blurred for Kairi though as she sat off to the side, her thoughts on her missing friends. Her arms wrapped around her legs she could feel her eyes well up with tears.
Sora was gone. According to Donald and Goofy he might be gone forever.
Riku was gone too. That guy Ansem had done something to him. She wasn't even sure if he had a body left. Could he even be saved?
Could she even do anything to bring them back? She didn't even know how to fight, let alone swing around this thing they called a keyblade.
An brown boot entering her field of view had her looking up. It didn't take long before her eyes met the gentle ones of the girl Aerith.
"It's alright."
Crimson locks shifted side to side as she shook her head, the verging tears noticeable, "No it's not. Sora's gone. Riku's gone. My island is gone. Everything's gone."
"Maybe not," Came Leon's voice.
That got her looking in the boys direction, "Huh?"
The older teen was quick to look towards the wall, "If Ansem is defeated then the world's should return."
"Really?"
This time he made sure to look at her as he nodded.
For a moment she didn't say anything as she mulled this over. If the island was restored then she could at least be able to go home. But if Ansem was gone could she get Riku back too? "Even Riku?"
And he was back to looking at the wall, now with his eyes closed, "I don't know."
"Oh…"
"I'm sorry."
Silence was quick to permeate the room. It was so suffocating that she wanted to get up and leave the building. But that wouldn't get her back her friends and home. And it sounded like she had the only weapon to stop this. It was all up to her.
"Well…" She hesitated, took a deep breath, and looked up at the room with conviction on her face, "I guess I'll have to take on Ansem then."
That got her shocked looks from everyone.
"Uh, are you sure about that?" Asked Goofy, a finger placing itself on his chin as worry replaced his shock.
No she wasn't, but someone needed to do it, and it seemed like she was that someone. So instead she just nodded, shifting so that she was now sitting on her legs, "You guys said that if we don't then the world's will be destroyed."
"But Kairi," Donald broke in, "Do you even know how to fight or use magic?"
"Nope," She was already getting to her feet, "But I can figure it out."
"You can't learn that fast!"
"And you can't just fly there like they did last time," Cid interrupted, piece of straw twirling between his lips, "With the keyhole open in Hollow Bastion there'll be a lot more Heartless in the way."
She huffed, cheeks puffing out, "Then I'll close that keyhole first."
"Didn't you listen? You can't get there the normal way."
"Then how?" When he didn't give her an answer she pulled out her own personal weapon. Putting her hands together in front of her she put out a wobbly bottom lip, and widened her eyes. The puppy dog look always worked on Riku and her dad, maybe it would work on him.
He didn't say anything, but she could see him breaking. So she decided to go for the final blow. Letting herself sound as pathetic as possible she spoke, "Please?"
He sighed, a hand going to his hips as the other attempted to pull his goggles down to cover his eyes, "You sneak in around them. I've got a gummi that can help with that."
"Can I have it?"
"If I you were capable I'd tell you where it's hidden, but," His hand released his goggles and went to join his other on his hips, "If you can prove yourself against the Heartless here and find it then I might install for you."
"Well where can I look?"
"I'm not gonna tell you that." When she gave him a real pout he sighed again, "Look if I just tell you how are you supposed to be ready?"
Why couldn't it be easy? It wasn't like she had time to prepare, even if his logic made some sense. Still the frustration couldn't be hidden as she groaned, "Fine," And made her way out of the building. She kinda was racing against the clock after all.
It didn't take long for Donald and Goofy to follow her out, both out of concern for her and their desire to follow their kings order.
Once the door had fully closed behind the three the four residents of Traverse Town looked at each other, a question on each of their minds but none of them wanting to say it.
It was after an uncomfortably long time that Yuffie found herself breaking the silence, "Do you think they can do it?"
"I don't know," Leon sighed, "But we can only hope they can."
"It would be nice to see our home again," Brought up Aerith, "Even if it is destroyed. If they do manage to seal the keyhole we could probably rebuild it."
The strand of straw found itself being shifted between Cids lips as the man smiled, "Heh, yeah. We could make it better than it was."
(khkhkhkhkh)
"Just where am I going to start looking?"
Traverse Town was big, so very big. It had districts, and that's not even taking into account the possibility of this gummi being in a place that only Cid knows about. And what about the Heartless? She still hadn't even tried swinging the keyblade yet. What if she wasn't strong enough?
"Kairi!"
Jumping she looked back, not even noticing the keyblade appear in her hand at the imaginary threat. At seeing Soras friends she relaxed, "Donald? Goofy? What is it?"
"We're helping you look," Spoke Donald.
"Really? But why?"
"Well you are pretty set on doing this," Chuckled Goofy, a finger rubbing against his nose.
"And Sora would want us to help you out," Added Donald.
Without thinking her free hand moved to rub against her other arm as she looked to the ground, "Well you guys did say that everyone would be in danger if this wasn't done... And this keyblade is the only thing that can take care of it."
"But do you know how to use it?"
She just shook her head.
"That's no problem," Broke in Goofy. At the confused looks on the twos faces he continued, raising an index finger into the air as he did so, "After we finish up Hollow Bastion we can bring you to our friends in the coliseum. Phil and Hercules could help you train."
"Oh yeah," Came Donalds voice, as though he hadn't thought of that. Looking back at her he decided to add on, "And I can teach you magic while we go. I may not know as much as Merlin, but I'm the king's royal magician for a reason."
She didn't know what to say. These two barely knew her, the skies above they saw one of their friends sacrifice himself for her. One of her friends even attacked them. By all accounts they shouldn't want to be around her.
A smile found its way to her face as she thought about this, "Donald. Goofy. Thank you."
The two gave her a nod before Goofy spoke again, "So where do you think we should start looking?"
It was then that a new voice broke into the conversation, "Perhaps I can offer an idea."
Startled again she began looking around only to be surprised as a anthropomorphic cricket jumped off of Goofys hat. How long had it been there?
"Hi there," It called up to her, a hand up as though it hoped for a hand shake, "The name's Jiminy Cricket. I've been documenting this whole journey in my journal."
"Hi?" What was she even supposed to say here? She didn't even know he existed until now. "Um what's your idea?"
"Why it's quite simple really," He grinned up at them, "We look for places that Cid or only a few people should know about."
"Huh? Why there?"
"Well if you want to hide something you typically don't put it where anyone can see it."
That got the three thinking. Where could such a clearly important item be hidden?
It was Goofy who got an idea. "Say," He started, his hands moving to his sides from where they had been at his chin, "Do you think it's in his old shop or in that place behind the alley?"
She was quick to look at him shocked as Donald quacked, "Goofy, you're a genius!"
A smile was quick to come to Goofys face as he scratched at the side of it, "Aw shucks guys. It's nothing."
The place behind this alley sounded promising. The shop however... "Wouldn't it be noticed if it were in the shop?"
"Well sometimes secret things are in the open."
That... really had her wondering just how smart Goofy really was. How could someone so dumb say something so smart?
But that wasn't really important right now. With a shake of her head she looked back at the three, "So which should we look at first?"
"How about the shop?" Donald proposed as she stooped to give Jiminy a lift, "It's closer."
"Sounds good to me. Lead the way."
With a nod the two began to lead her down towards what they called the First District.
Unfortunately they'd barely taken two steps before Heartless appeared, surrounding the three. Donald and Goofy were quick to draw out their weapons, ready for a fight. Kairi however just stood there, frozen in shock, panic coursing through her. Was she going to lose her heart again?
A weight in her hand and a tugging at her heart had her looking down at the keyblade she'd forgotten she summoned earlier.
That's right, she can use it to fight these things. She wasn't defenseless anymore. And with this thing she might be able to get Riku and her home back, and she couldn't do that if she was gone. With that thought in mind she hardened her face, tightened her grip on the keyblade, and prepared for battle.
The Heartless struck hard and fast. Claws hit metal with a clang as the small shockwave coursed through her arms. Her legs almost buckled from that alone. On the edge of her vision she could faintly see Goofy charge through their numbers, sending them flying in all directions. Her skin tingled as electricity coursed through the air from a spell that Donald had cast.
They were doing so must like it was easy, and here she was barely holding against one. Could she really save everyone? As the only one who could do this?
But she wasn't alone. She had Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy with her. Soras friends and Riku were putting their faith in her.
And this keyblade...
It must have chosen her for a reason.
She didn't know if it was through adrenaline or something else, but with a sudden burst of strength she managed to push the lone Heartless back and swung to strike it down. To her surprise it cut through the Heartless like a hot knife through butter, cutting the creature in two before it disappeared. With it gone she moved on to another one.
Fortunately by this point there were very few left as Donald and Goofy had destroyed the majority of them. With their experienced help the rest were easy to deal with, though not without some scratches on Kairis part.
She was gasping for breath, her body stinging from both her injuries and the strain of fighting for the first time in her life. Were life and death battles always this terrifying and exhausting?
She did not get much time to think this over unfortunately as a ball of darkness rammed into her side sending her over the railing of where they were. With a scream of fear she fell to the lower level where she landed in a heap as pillars shot up out of the ground, preventing help from reaching her.
Groaning in pain she sat up, grimacing as hurt laced up her side from how she landed, "Ow."
"Kairi!"
She looked up to where the voice came from, where she fell from. Donald and Goofy were looking down at her, banging their fists on air that gleamed like glass every time their fists made contact. Was that there before?
The banging of metal had her looking elsewhere only to cover her face and duck as large pieces of metal flew over her to form to together into something in front of her. Piece by piece the metallic pieces came together to form some sort of floating armor complete with feet, hands, and a head, each piece floating independently as well.
Slowly she backed away, her free hand curled close to her chest, her voice barely a whisper as a single word passed through her lips, "No..." Quickly her eyes darted around the area, trying to seek out a way out, completely oblivious of the fact that it knew she was there.
It was when its limbs detached themselves and flew at her that she finally realized. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to react in time, and was sent flying into a wall and fell to the ground. Groaning she sat up, her head pounding as she looked up at the large Heartless. Was she expected to beat this?
A sudden weight on her shoulder had her jumping, her head turning to find the cause. There she found Jiminy looking up at her, patience and worry both clear on his face. With a gentle smile he placed a hand on what he could reach of her face, "Don't worry, we've fought this Heartless before. I can tell you how to win."
There was a way to beat this thing? And he knew how to do it?
She had a chance. Her face hardening once again she turned back to the Heartless, gripping the keyblade in both her hands, hear ears staying open for information.
This time when the limbs attacked she made sure to move out of the way as Jiminy spoke, "We call it Guard Armor. It's one of the first Heartless we fought in this journey." His voice faltered for a moment as she had to make a sudden change in direction to avoid an attack, "It's really weak. Those feet and hands act as their own separate Heartless. They can be destroyed like any other Heartless. They're actually weaker than the main body."
They could be destroyed, and easier than the biggest part? That sounded like a good starting point. This time when a piece landed near her she struck at it, and to her relief it shattered. That didn't mean she should let her guard down though as she quickly found out. Clawed hands were quick to try and rip her apart, managing only to tear cuts into one of her arms. The pain caused her to cry out, drawing more worried cries from up above.
But she couldn't give up, her home world was depending on her stopping Ansem. And Riku… she couldn't give up on Riku.
With pain and frustration lacing her face she struck out, shattering another Heartless piece. Silently she cheered. One hand and one foot left to go before she gets the body.
The body she had completely forgotten about however as she quickly found out. Seemingly enraged it began to spin at a fast pace, quickly making its way to where she was. She had no idea.
Fortunately she wasn't the only one with eyes on the fight. From on her shoulder Jiminy cried out, "Kairi, behind you!"
Hearing this she turned around only to leap to the side to avoid the large mass bearing down on her. She did not avoid taking damage though, as it hit one of her feet causing pain to lace up her leg. Upon landing she grimaced in pain as she turned to go after another target. She needed to hurry, her injured foot felt like it was on fire.
Putting in all her strength she lunged at the closest limb only to miss as it went up into the air. Not letting that stop her she jumped and swung. Fortunately she managed to hit it, slicing the flying foot in two.
Gravity did not pull her back down fast enough though as she spotted the remaining hand spinning as it headed her direction. Not sure of what else to do she held the keyblade out in front of her like she'd seen Sora and Riku do when blocking each other's attacks. Closing her eyes, she prayed.
It worked. Though she was pushed back so that she landed further away, the impact seemed to knocked the hand out of the air as it crashed straight down onto the ground. Taking advantage of this she ran, spearing it through as soon as she arrived.
That just left the biggest piece, which she just realized she had forgotten about. This was a fact it took advantage of. Spinning itself it went for her backside.
Neither she nor Jiminy noticed until it was too late. With a cry of pain it sent the two flying, and when they crashed onto the ground Jiminy went flying, his small body knocked unconscious from the impact on the ground.
She was now alone and she hurt all over. Putting both of her hands on the ground she slowly got back up. She was so close to winning. She couldn't give up.
Stumbling she turned around so that she was now facing the remaining piece of the Heartless, her grip on the keyblade loose as she gasped for breath.
Though her head pounded she ran towards it, leaping in the air once she was close enough. Metal met metal, the keyblade slicing through its side. It wasn't enough though as the body slammed her out of the air after the impact.
Getting back on her feet she charged again, and this time it failed to deal her harm. This time she was ready for the slam and blocked the attack. Like the hand the body crashed to the ground as she was knocked back.
Taking no chances she lunged, cleaving it in two. To her surprise when she landed and turned around she was greeted with the sight of a large glowing heart floating out of what she destroyed of the Heartless.
As though the Heartless had been the one holding them up the walls began to lower themselves. The adrenaline leaving her body Kairi found herself dropping to her knees as she heard the sound of Donald and Goofy running down the stairs. She could see Jiminy waking up off to the side.
"Kairi!"
Her eyes feeling heavy she turned her head to look at a corner where Donald and Goofy were rushing over from. She smiled, lifting a hand to wave.
Then her body gave out to exhaustion.
She toppled forward. The last thing she saw before succumbing to sleep was the feet of her two larger companions.
(khkhkhkhkh)
When consciousness began to return to her, she was greeted with warmth and comfort. Groaning she began to open her eyes, her head feeling heavy as she lifted it from where it had been resting.
With her eyes now open she found herself in a forge or shop of some kind. Moving about it were a number of some sort of small creature that floated and had a pom-pom on its head. Tilting her head a bit she saw that she was sitting in a cushioned chair with a blanket over her.
"What..."
That seemed to get the attention of one of those creatures as it was soon in her face causing her to yelp in surprise. Forgetting where she was, she tried to jump away back away only to hit her arm against the frame of the chair.
The creature didn't seem to be fazed by this as it cried out, "You're awake Kupo!" It disappeared for a moment before returning with a foamy steaming mug between its paws, "Here!"
"Um," Hesitantly she took it, the blanket falling so that it was now covering only her lap and legs, "Thank you?" Why did her voice sound so scratchy and weak?
With a nod the creature flew off back to whatever it is it was doing.
Now sure what to do she looked down at the drink now in her hands. She couldn't really see it through the whipped cream like foam, but whatever it was it smelled good. Carefully she took a sip. It burned her tongue, but it tasted like really good chocolate milk. Not caring about the heat, she took an even bigger gulp. She hadn't even realized how thirsty she was. How long had it been since she drank something?
That was when she heard the door to this strange place open. Instinctual curiosity had her looking to see the cause of the sound. What she was greeted with was the sight of Donald and Goofy entering the place.
"Donald? Goofy?"
That got the two looking in her general direction. It was Donald who moved first, making his way over as Goofy stayed behind to close the door behind them.
"Kairi," The duck began, "How are you feeling?"
She smiled, "I'm fine." Confusion quickly returned, "What happened though? I remember fighting that creature, and then waking up here."
"That's no surprise," Pipped up a third voice. From her side popped up Jiminy. He was a little worse for wear, but that didn't seem to faze him, "You were hurt so bad you fell unconscious."
"Really?"
She could see Goofy nodding as he made his way over, "Yup, but Donald fixed you right up and we brought you here."
"Speaking of which," She took another look at their surroundings, "Where are we?"
"We're in the towns Synthesis Shop," Jiminy informed her, "It's right above where we needed to go."
That got here attention, "We're here?" Quickly she got to her feet only to fall to her knees, her drink spilling on the floor, "We've got to start looking."
Gently Goofy helped her stand back up as Donald spoke, worry gracing his face, "We already looked while you were out. It's not here."
"So then..." She hesitated as she remembered, "It's in that other place you guys mentioned. We should get going then."
The others were quick to share a look before looking back at her, worry clear on their faces as Jiminy spoke, "Now Kairi, you need to rest. You got hurt pretty bad, remember?"
"I have to finish what Sora started. Ansem needs to be stopped." With that said she began making her way towards the door, her legs feeling like jello under her.
A hand grabbed her wrist. Confused she looked down to find her eyes meeting Donalds.
"You won't make it far with your current capabilities."
"I'll figure it out."
"Kairi..."
Not caring to hear the rest she ripped herself free and ran out the door.
(khkhkhkhkh)
Now outside she found herself in an area she didn't recognize, but she didn't let that stop her. Donald and Goofy were close behind after all, she needed to get moving. Everyone was relying on her. She couldn't give up.
Seeing a large door in front of her advertising itself as the towns second district she ran in that direction and through that door. Pushing them open she found herself in an open area, buildings on all sides, a lower level where she can hear running water, and in front of her she could see what looked like some sort of clock tower.
"Just how big is this town?"
That was when she noticed movement. Down below she could see one of those Heartless creatures moving about. The odd thing was it looked kinda like a purple monkey, with a blue bow atop its head. Looking closer she could see a slingshot in one of its hands. How is that supposed to be dangerous?
Well fighting that thing isn't required, so crouching down she began moving in a random direction.
She managed to get some distance before a feeling of dread made its way down her back. She froze, looking around. It was she looked over her shoulder that she found the cause of the feeling.
There on the ledge behind her was the strange Heartles she had spotted earlier. And it was staring straight at her.
Not knowing what else to do she ran as an began to sound from the Heartless. What she didn't notice is that more of them appeared with the other. Then they all took aim.
Pain was quick to come to her as her backside began to get pelted. Without thinking she ran to the closest set of doors she saw, and glad that they were unlocked, pushed them open as she went in. She just prayed they wouldn't follow her.
Luckily they didn't.
Gasping for breath she looked at the hallway she found herself in.
"Is this some kind of hotel?"
Slowly she began moving, grimacing as she the residual sting on her backside. She should really try to use the keyblade more, it might make her better. Make her more ready for taking on Ansem. For bringing Riku and her home back.
But was she even going in the right direction?
She could feel tears welling up in her eyes again. This time she stopped to rub at them. She felt like a failure. Riku and Sora would have had this dealt with already. She can't even beat one of the weaker Heartless without help. Was she really that helpless?
Emotions overwhelming her she leaned against a nearby wall, sat down, curled her legs so her knees were against her chest, and cried.
(khkhkhkhkh)
She stayed like that for a while until she felt like she was being watched.
Confused she lifted her head up to find a male figure standing in front of her. She couldn't make out what they looked like due to the fact they were cloaked in black and had a hood covering their face.
Her lips moved without her thinking, her voice scratchy from all the crying, "Who are you?"
They didn't respond, instead saying with a cool collected voice, "Your companions are seeking you out."
"Really?"
His hood moved as though he nodded, "You should go see them. They seem to be worried."
"Um right," Carefully stood up and began to walk away only to stop as she realized that she didn't know where to go. With that in mind she turned around to ask the man where to go only to find that he was gone.
"Huh?"
She didn't get much time to think about this though as she began to hear her name being called. Using that as a hint she began to follow the voices to the friends she had left behind. Going through a nearby door she found herself in what looked like a bedroom. But that wasn't far enough. She kept going and found herself atop a balcony overlooking what appeared to be an alley.
And down below she could see and hear Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy looking for her.
Putting on a smile she waved down to the three, "Donald! Goofy! Jiminy! Up here!"
That got the threes attention, with them looking up at her making various exclamations of relief to see her alive and seemingly unharmed.
An honest grin on her face she began looking around for a quick way to get down to them. Seeing none she decided to go over the railing onto the roof, and from the roof to the ground. When she slipped upon landing on the roof she heard a gasp from the three, but upon getting her footing back she made her way to the edge so she can safely hop down.
She could hear Donald call up, "What are you doing!?"
"I'm getting down to you guys."
"Kairi," Jiminy called, "There's safer ways to do that."
"Maybe, but this is faster," With that she hopped down, not noticing that her skirt caught and tore of the edge of the roof.
Upon landing she barely had any time to get back to her feet before the three were upon her. The impact almost sent her back to the ground.
"Hey, careful guys."
It wasn't long before they were back to give her breathing room. Though she was happy to see them, guilt was quick to take her over. Looking down as she rubbed one of her arms she said, "Sorry for running off guys. I just can't sit and wait to get better. Everyone needs me to do this."
"Kairi," She could hear the cricket say, "You need to think about yourself too. You're not invincible. You don't really have battle experience or know magic. You could get hurt worse than you already have been."
"I know..."
"Which is why," Donald broke in, "I'm going to teach you."
That got her looking at him, shock clear on her face.
"Well, it will help you out in a battle."
Not sure how to respond she simply looked back down to the ground as she whispered, "Thank you."
"Aw it's nothing."
"Yep," Goofy spoke up, "Now how's about we get back to looking?"
"Oh right," Came Donald, "We're really close to that other place."
That caught her by surprise, "We are?"
Goofy nodded, "Yep, it's just down that way," With that he gestured down the alleyway to where a hole in the wall could be seen.
"In there?" It didn't exactly strike her as a safe looking place.
"Yeah," Came Donald.
"Well, alright..." She could feel Jiminy hop onto her shoulder, "I guess we could look in there..."
With Goofy leading the way the group made their way over as Donald began telling her about several spells she could learn and practice.
Soon water was washing over her shoes as they transitioned from walking on a concrete like surface to walking across the stone floor of a chamber catching the princess of heart by surprise.
"This was down here?"
"Yeah," Came Donalds voice as he and Goofy began to look around, "And if you go up those stairs," He gestured to a staircase she hadn't noticed, "You'll be in Merlins place. He's a really strong wizard the king hired to help Sora learn magic. If you ask, he might teach you too."
"Really?" Turning around in a circle she made sure to get a better look at the chamber. Her voice was quick to take a sad quiet tone as a thought occurred to her, "This looks like the secret area we used to draw in..."
Then she noticed something. An alcove with a mural featuring a sun and clouds covering the entire end. Curiosity taking over her she made her way over potentially looking to the others as though she were in a trance. Something about it just drew her in. Upon reaching she reached out, her palm placing itself atop the sun.
Soon it began glow a dim light, making her step back in surprise. Then to her bafflement a small item came out of the mural and gently fell into the water in front of her. Watching it she barely noticed as the mural changed to feature a moon surrounded by stars.
A single word graced her lips as she squatted down to pick the mysterious item up, "Wow."
What she picked up though she didn't recognize, it looked nothing like she had ever seen before. Turning it over in her hands she tried to make sense of the strange cube, but she just had no idea what it was. Was this what they were looking for, or was it something else entirely?
With that in mind she stood up and turned back to Donald and Goofy, the mysterious thing gently held in her hand, "Do you think this is it?"
Without even waiting for a response, she began heading towards the two.
Once she was close enough, they carefully took the item and began to look at it.
Silence permeated the chamber.
Then Donald gasped, "This might be it."
At that Goofy nodded, "Yep, Ah-hyuck."
That got her smiling, her hands clasping each other behind her back, "So we can get back to the others?"
"Yep," Donald responded.
"So, what's the best way to get back?"
"Gee," Goofy said, scratching at the top of his head, "The fastest way is through Merlins house, but it's kinda rude to do that."
"Oh..." Then a thought occurred to her, "Well I don't think he'd mind too much right? I'm sure he'd understand that it is important."
Before she could get a response, she'd already begun making her way towards the stares, "Come on guys!"
When she reached the top of the stone steps, she was surprised to find a floating stone platform, "Well they said he knew a lot of magic..." With that thought in mind she climbed atop it, letting out a startled sound of surprise as it rose up. Looking up she found the stone ceiling above her open up to let her and the platform through. Without thinking she hunched down, closing her eyes as though bracing for impact.
When no impact came she slowly opened them, and stood up to take in her surroundings. It certainly looked a little like a house with furniture strewn about, and the center elevated to feature a table. It even had a person that she assumed was the man they called Merlin. Though there was also a woman off to the side by what she assumed was supposed to be the door.
The man certainly seemed surprised to see her, as he turned to talk to her, a hand on his chin. What was said caught her off guard though, "Well you certainly showed up a little later than I expected. Now where are Donald and Goofy?"
She blinked, not even noticing as another chunk of stone seemed to be swallowed up by the floor, "Huh?"
"Yes," He said, pulling a pocket watch out of nowhere to look at it, "You're ten minutes late."
"You were expecting me..." Then a thought occurred to her that made her blood run cold, "You knew what was going to happen to Sora!"
"Not entirely my dear. I just knew you were going to take his place."
Her hands clenched at her sides, she could feel her eyes well up with tears again, "You still knew!"
His hands were quick to go up to placate, "Now hold on, I couldn't have done anything to stop it. This was entirely out of my hands. This was entirely up to you and his Heartless."
That caught her off guard, "What?"
The woman had begun to walk over, some kind of wand being delicately held in her hands, "Oh yes deary, he had no control over what happened. Merlin here can't see everything."
She didn't even notice the others arrive from the chamber, "What?"
"Oh yes," He said, putting a hand to his own chest, "I'm not omnipotent. I can only get fragments of things that are likely to happen. I have no control over how they happen."
"Oh..." Now she felt like an idiot. How was she even supposed to properly apologize to that? Looking down to the ground she just said, "Sorry."
A hand on her shoulder had her quickly looking back up, her eyes meeting his far older ones. To her surprise he smiled, "Think nothing of it dear. I know this was a big misunderstanding."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely," With that he turned his attention to Donald and Goofy, "Now I trust you two have been helping her."
"Well, we've been trying," Donald said.
"Yeah," Goofy added, "But things haven't been easy."
A hum came from Merlin as the unnamed woman tutted, "Oh we can see that, the dear has her clothes all torn up."
Gently she took Kairis hand and led her away from the three. With ease she delicately held her wand up between her fingers, "Now let's fix your clothes up, shall we?"
Without even waiting for an answer she began waving it, a gleaming sparkle moving from it to cover the princess of hearts body. When it disappeared Kairi found herself dressed as she had been before, but all the damage her clothes had received were gone.
"Wow..."
The woman was smiling, "Oh it's not that impressive my dear."
She felt like she had to say something, anything. So looking back up at the woman she spoke, "Thank you Miss," Then she realized she had no idea who she was talking to, "Umm..."
A laugh came from the woman, "Oh it's alright if you don't know who I am, I wasn't exactly hired by his highness." With no hesitation she held out a hand for a shake, "I am Fairy Godmother."
"Fairy Godmother," A smile coming to her face she reached out and shook the offered hand, "It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise, deary."
Then she heard Donald and Goofy calling her name. Looking in their direction she found them by the curtain that covered a large hole in the wall.
"Kairi," Donald said, "It's time we got going."
"Oh," She nodded, "Right."
Quickly she made her way over to them only to stop and turn back towards the two magical people, "It was nice to meet you two!"
The two gave their own affirmations of farewell as she went through the curtain with Donald and Goofy.
Once she was on the other side though she blinked. She hadn't expected to end up on a island surrounded by water inside a room. That just seemed like something from a storybook. Is that what Sora thought when he came here?
Shaking her head she began looking for a way off the island. Donald and Goofy thankfully seemed to know where to go, heading towards where the entrance should have been, and where an arch stood on the edge, stone islands going from it towards dry land and a doorway.
She was quick to head towards and once she was close enough she jumped onto the first stone island only to flail her arms as it and the other ones began moving side to side. Getting across without getting wet was going to be harder than she thought.
Making a prayer she made another jump, and another. On she went from stone island to stone Island, always flailing as she landed and needed to get her balance back.
She almost made it all the way, but on the final one she slipped.
With a shout of surprise she fell in. Dark water surrounded her, its chill covering her body. It wasn't as warm as the ocean water she was used to on the islands.
It was fortunate she knew how to swim though.
With a push and a series of kicks she had her head back above water, gasping for air as she breached. Looking around to get her bearings back she saw how close she was to land, and swam over. Once she was on dry land she began to start wringing her clothes out as best she could while wearing them, shivering all the while.
It wasn't long before Donald and Goofy joined her on the other side, though they weren't wet like she was.
"Why does this place have moving stones?"
She could Donald shrug as Goof scratched at his head and said, "We kinda just figured it was some sort of defense."
"But defend from who?"
All they could offer her was a shrug.
With a sigh she stood up, her clothes still soaked more than she'd like, but moving at least would help her stay warm, "Let's get going I guess. They're waiting for us to come back with this gummi block thing."
"You sure you don't want to dry off first?" Asked Goofy.
"I'm as dry as I'm going to get here."
"Oh."
"Besides," She added as she made her way out, a light smile gracing her face, "They might have a towel."
(khkhkhkhkh)
It took less time to get back to the house than she expected. And just as she had hoped they had a towel she could dry off with, though they were shocked to see her soaking wet. Cid had even complained she didn't need to take a bath to get the block. But he did give in and went off, saying that he was going to get it set up in their gummiship, whatever that was.
So now they waited, everyone talking while she sat off to the side, a towel wrapped over her shoulders. And as seemed to be the case today her mind wandered back to the situation on hand, on whether she would be able to do the job that needed to be done. Ansem did look pretty strong after all, and she was new to all of this. She doubted Donald and Goofy would be able to help the whole way through seeing as they could help her with that big Heartless earlier.
Eventually after a while the door to the building opened drawing everyone's attention. There Cid stood, a resigned look on his face as he turned his attention to look in Kairi's direction.
"Well, it's all set. I still think this is a bad idea kid."
"But someone has to do it," Just how many times had she argued that today? It felt like too many. Couldn't they just try to trust her?
"And it shouldn't be a kid like you."
Puffing her cheeks out she gave him an annoyed look, "You're a grown-up, and you can't do it. I have the keyblade, not you."
"Kid."
"It has to be done," She cried, getting to her feet, towel falling to the ground forgotten, "I know it's dangerous, but if I don't do anything then things are going to get even worse. You've all said that!"
He just sighed, shaking his head again, "You're just as stubborn as he is aren't you?"
"Maybe."
Silence came back to the room for a while before Leon broke it with only a few words, "Just make sure you can come back."
She nodded, "I will."
Giving a nod of his own Leon then proceeded to head to the door, Aerith choosing to speak for him as they all made their way out, "We may as well say bye and send you off."
After them Donald and Goofy left. Kairi was about to too, but then she stopped, a thought coming to her. With what was going to happen they were going to need a lot of luck to get through this.
Digging into her pockets she pulled out the lucky charm she had made before all of this went down and looked at it. It had helped her so far, but maybe it would help better if it were in her hands during all of this.
With that in mind she held out her other hand, and closed her eyes, concentrating. In a moment the keyblade was in hand, its keychain dangling free in the air. Without another thought she attached her lucky charm to where the keychain was attached, and finally headed out of the building.
She had no idea that she had changed the keyblade, nor did she realize just how difficult this was going to be.
