Chapter Four: The Truth Behind Closed Doors
~The truth shall set you free~
Sora couldn't take his eyes off of where the water was. It soon disappeared after his chain fell in. He wondered why he couldn't see it laying on the street. He looked down to where his chain would have normally fallen. Not there. 'Was I hallucinating? That couldn't have been real. could it?' Sora thought as he went back to bed. He lay down and let sleep take him yet again.
'I'm getting really tired of these freaking dreams and hallucinations!' Sora said to himself as another dream popped into his head.
It was dark and Sora walked along a twisted road that ended up taking him to a crossroad. He looked around and wondered what to do and where to go next. There were three choices. He looked around some more wondering which path would take him home.
"Now what?" He said as he saw someone familiar walking towards him.
Christa didn't know where she was either. She came up to the same crossroad as that boy did. She didn't know who he was, entirely. She knew he was either Sora or Riku from her dreams about them as children.but as to which one he was, Christa was clueless.
"Hello." She said as she walked up to him. "Did you die and go to hell too?"
"Die? No. I fell asleep though." Sora said, grinning.
"Go figure! Now I'm alone again." She paused, "Oh well, it's always been like this and I guess it will stay that way." Christa said saddened by those thoughts.
"What do you mean? No one deserves to be alone forever." Sora said to her, frowning.
"No one except for me." Christa frowned and turned away.
"Why's that? Did you do something wrong?" Sora asked, curious.
"No, but everyone else around me did." She turned around and Sora looked at her, still curious. She continued, "I lived at Hallow Bastion and when I was seven my parents died. My uncle then took care of me. He was the greatest. So loving and caring. He was doing research to help the castle with some other people. When the research started to go wrong he fell into darkness. All of his coworkers died down in the waterways. They became shadows.
"He kept going and I visited him down there too, unaware of how dangerous he'd become. I watched from afar as he slowly lost his sanity and his life. That's when he stepped into the door up in the Hall. I ran over to the door to save him, and as he came out I realized he didn't need any help... I did." She paused, "He turned to the darkness within him and started to command the Heartless. Their first mission was to restrain me! His own niece!" Christa started to cry, "I almost lost my heart right there, but I escaped. It turns out that wandering the castle for 5 years helped me know where everything was.
"I got out of the Hall and ran down to the waterways. But the Heartless where down there too. They got me. My uncle stepped forward, with the Heartless symbol on his chest. He commanded them to throw me out of the castle. He said my heart wasn't worth the time of day. My own uncle said that!" The tears poured down her face, "I couldn't.... believe it! He....he threw me out of the.. the castle! And.... and....." She couldn't continue.
Sora moved closer to comfort her. 'Kairi's gonna kill me for this.' He thought as he timidly slid his hands around her and pulled her close. She continued to sob and hiccup in his arms. It has been so long since someone comforted her and held her so close. She felt drawn to him for some strange reason.
"It's okay." Was all Sora could tell her.
"No it's not!!!" She yelled as she looked up at him. Sora drew her closer as her sobs continued. "I've never had a real family!!! I'm an orphan!!! I'll always be an orphan!!!" She buried her face in his shirt, her tears started to wet it.
"Calm down, please." He grinned at her. His famous grin always worked.
She dried her eyes and calmed down. Christa's hiccups subsided and she looked at her feet. She was embarrassed for crying in front of him. She sat down on the crossroads and looked out at the darkness. Sora sat next to her and tried to figure out what she was looking at.
She thought about something, this guy seems very nice. No one's ever done something like that for her. Her heart hurt thinking about it. She stood up to make it seem like nothing was wrong. Christa took a step back as the pain became larger. She cried out and Sora got up to figure out what was wrong.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tidus had gotten Christa breathing again, but she hadn't woken up yet. Kairi, Nova, Christa, and him all went into the Seashore Shack for the night. They couldn't carry Christa back to the safe house the whole island was in because of the storm. Christa held a chain in her hand. Tidus noticed that she clutched it in her sleep as if something was hurting her. They tried before to take it out of her hand, but she wouldn't let go. It was strange, but he could've sworn that he's seen that chain before.
"Maybe we should lay her down somewhere? She looks like she's in pain." Kairi said to Tidus.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He replied back, laying her down on the sand that was the flooring to the Seashore Shack.
She was breathing heavily as if something was wrong. Tidus was really not good at stuff like this. Sure he could save people, but he sucked at taking care of them afterwards. He watched as Nova and Kairi helped each other take care of her.
When it seemed like she wasn't in pain anymore they just watched from afar. Soon the girls were all sleeping and Tidus was watching them. His eyelids drooped and he let his thoughts turn to dreams dancing in his head. He slept.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She cried out again as the pain became too much for her to handle. Sora once again drew her close. He clutched at her fading form with the attempt to keep her where he was. She was crying again, but not as if she was sad, she was in pain. Sora tried desperately to keep her with him, but nothing seemed to work.
They were on their knees now, holding on to each other. Wind whirled around them. A wind that seemed to come from nowhere, or maybe it came from Christa? She was yelling now. The pain was too much for her to bear and Sora held on to her, trying to stop her from thrashing around. Her form flickered in and out like the nobody he met and fought before.
Then, the screaming died down and she closed her eyes. Christa let her form disappear into nothing. There were only sparkles that faded as they fell to the floor. And Sora was left grasping to nothing but a memory of her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Manic looked up to the dark nighttime to see a small shooting star arch it's way across the sky.
"Now it's her turn..." He said to himself.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Riku sleepily looked up to what seemed to be a sky in this dark place and envisioned that a star fell down from it.
"Hmm..." he said as he drifted back into sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Whoa.. That was weird." Christa said sitting up. "Was that real? My chest really hurt...and I know that dreams aren't supposed to hurt..." She whispered.
"Oh! You're awake!" Nova said from the other side of the room. She crawled over and sat next to Christa. Nova was happy she was okay.
Christa didn't really say anything back to Nova. She wanted to tell Nova about the dream with Riku/Sora and how she felt about him. 'He was so kind to me and yet he didn't even know who I was.'
"Christa? Are you okay?" Nova said worried. She sensed something was wrong with her friend and she wanted to help so much.
"I'm fine don't worry about me! Just freaky dreams." Christa replied trying to seem as happy as possible. That's when she noticed the chain was still in her hand and clutched to her chest. Was that what was hurting her?
"Do you want to talk about it?" She said still worried.
"Not really. I'd feel a little uncomfortable talking about it." She didn't lie. She really didn't want to talk about anything like that.
Kairi stirred and sat up. "What's going on?" She asked rubbing sleep out if her eyes.
"Never mind.. I'll tell you later, Kairi." Nova said exasperated. She crawled back to the corner she was sleeping in and went back to her dream world.
"What's her problem?" Kairi asked.
"Girl! You know Nova's crazy!" Christa said and they both laughed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sora woke up in the hotel room. Donald and Goofy were shaking him. He stared at them like they were out of their minds.
"What's the matter?" Sora said as he noticed the worried expression on their faces. He was puzzled.
"You were stirring and mumbling in your sleep. We got worried that it was one of those strange dreams about Riku again." Donald told him.
"Oh..." He said unaffected by his dream. 'So bizarre...' "Nothing to worry about! Trust me!" He tried to make it seem okay so his friends wouldn't worry.
"Okie Dokie! If-a ya need anythin' we'll be in duh dining arena!" Goofy yelled back to his friend as Donald corrected him, "Area!!!!!"
Sora chuckled under his breath as his companions left the room arguing about spelling and grammar. "Leave it up to Donald and Goofy to make you laugh in the morning!" And he laughed again as he began to make his bed.
He showered and dressed after cleaning up the room they were sleeping in and left. He wanted to find Manic and ask something else. Something about that girl and his weird dreams.
He wanted to know why all this was happening to him and that girl. But there was a question he couldn't answer. Why did he put his arms around her like he'd done to Kairi? If she ever figured out about that incident, she'd kill him for sure. He smiled at the thought of Kairi. He missed her so much. Sora would give anything to see her again.
He walked the bleak streets. Although it was day, the rain clouds made it seem like night. He passed down the same blocks and buildings as yesterday afternoon. Admiring their bounty notices yet again. Sora didn't even know where to begin looking for Manic. He could be anywhere.
It started to rain and Sora raced to get under something so he wouldn't get wet. He bumped into some other people as he passed his way in. That's when he passed someone in a dark trench coat. He looked up and saw blond hair.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He sat in the corner of the library studying the wall and the door. Cloud was waiting for them to get back from the waterways. Aeris walked in first and ran right over to him.
"We did it!!!" She yelled as she threw her arms around him. He smirked a bit which he felt was totally not like him.
The others walked in as Aeris withdrew her arms from around his neck. He walked up to the others and nodded to each of them. He went to meet Leon out in the main entrance. Cid and Yuffie walked into the Library as he went out. They walked over to Aeris as she looked for a book.
"He actually smiled? Nice going, Aeris!" Yuffie said to her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was morning and the rays of the sun penetrated the wooden walls of the shack. Kairi was the first one up and she looked around puzzled. Was the storm really over? She got up and opened the door. The light almost blinded her. She ran out to the shore of the beach and looked up as a huge shooting star crossed the sky. Kairi put her hands behind her back in the usual stance she took.
'He might come home now!!! The door has opened again! The barriers are down!!!' She thought as the star slowly fell out of sight.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Christa asked as she walked up behind Kairi. "I guess that means that the barriers are down and the door is open again?" She continued when Kairi didn't answer.
"Yeah. Which also means that Sora can come back home." Kairi told Christa.
They both just stood there for a while looking at the waves as they crashed on the sand. If that boy in her dream really was Sora, Kairi would be heart broken. She loved him so much and probably missed him as much as that love.
Finally, Christa looked back at the shack and over to the island that was connected by a bridge. Sitting on that island was a Gummy Ship all ready to go. 'Strange....did that just appear there?' Her eyes traveled back to the Shack as Tidus and Nova appeared in the doorway. Kairi was still looking out into the ocean. Nova ran over to Christa and Kairi.
"Do you want to come, Nova?" Christa asked her.
"What do you mean, come?" Nova suspiciously said.
Christa pointed to the Gummy Ship still sitting on the island. "Look! Now we can go and find Sora. Are you coming?" She asked again.
Nova was surprised. She never thought that she would get the chance to leave the islands. She'd always lived in the city part of the island where the safe house was located. Just like Christa, her parents died when she was young. But someone was always there to take care of her. Her older brother was the only family member left. He was too good to her. Unfortunately, when the island was sucked into darkness he went with it. When it was restored, he was no where to be found.
Nova had thought that he went away, forever. That his heart was ripped out of his chest and.... She stopped herself she didn't want to think of it again. She wanted to find her brother, "I'm going with you guys!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Manic had found Sora yet again. The younger of the two was drenched. His hair sagged. They silently decided to go to somewhere better, where no one would hear them. They walked into a bar and sat down at a stall. They got some water from the waitress and Sora got a muffin for his breakfast. Manic watched as Sora devoured the helpless muffin, leaving nothing but a crumb. Then he licked his finger, got the crumb, and ate that too. Manic was scared... this was a Keyblade Master?
He stopped staring and sipped at his water. He wondered why Sora said he was looking for him. Maybe he was still puzzled or maybe he wanted to test his skills. When Manic was young and carefree, his friends would always battle each other and test out their skills. He wasn't the best, but Manic was a great fighter. Since he was only 18 he considered himself to be more experienced than Sora.
"What did you want me for?" Manic finally asked after putting his drink down.
Sora looked up and half grinned, "I've been having freaky dreams for a while now. I was wondering if it had anything to do with the Keyblade or my non-existing heart?" He asked, surprised at his own words.
"Well, I see you've been thinking about what I told you. What were your dreams about? Who did you see?" Manic cautiously asked.
"Umm, the first ones were of Riku and Ansem taking him away. Yea, he keeps showing up in my dreams somehow...." He shuddered at the thought of Ansem.
"I'm thinking that those dreams were of the past with your friend Riku?" Manic allowed Sora to finish.
"The next one was of Kairi and this other girl. The Secret Place was flooding and that girl was trying to save Kairi. Then a huge wave crashed over them and I couldn't breath or do anything." He took a breath, "I tried to save that girl from drowning but I couldn't do anything to help her. She died right there. Then I got washed ashore and saw Ansem. That girl was his niece. He said so himself!"
"Wow, that must've scared you a bit." Manic said like a psychiatrist.
"Yea it did. After that I had a vision, or something like that? I saw her fall into the water and I dropped my chain in the water and it actually fell in! And Kairi was looking for her, but couldn't find her." "It fell in?" Manic said puzzled. Now he was interested, "That could only mean that you two have a special bond, or are connected somehow?" 'That's weird...' "Anyway, continue, Sora." He said brushing the subject to the side.
"When I went back to bed, I had a dream about her. She was right there with me. I could actually feel her warmth. She is really messed up though. She told me this whole thing about her family and Ansem.. Then she disappeared. I'll never forget the look in her eyes. She looked so sad, like she hadn't smiled in a thousand years.." He looked down at the plate remembering her and the look she gave him. She was really depressed and Sora felt that he failed her.
"You're going to meet her. Don't worry, those dreams were meant to show you that. Don't let them bother you, no matter how real they seem to be." With that, Manic got up and left the bar. Sora was still staring at his plate wondering what to do if he actually did see her again. 'I didn't even catch her name...'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They headed back to the safe house passing people fixing their houses after the storm. They passed by everyone exchanging a "Hello!" and a "How are you?" "Nice day." Christa didn't say anything. Nova was right when she said it before. Christa didn't belong there. In fact, she didn't belong anywhere..
They made it, all four of them got back to the safe house. Nova grabbed her things and Christa changed out of her wet clothes to be more comfortable. She now wore dark blue Capri's and a red shirt, and of course, the dark red jacket that she wore around her waist. The chain she found in the water dangled at her side. The others were ready and they left as soon as possible.
Tidus followed them back to where the Gummy Ship sat, waiting for them. He wondered why Christa had never asked him to come too. Maybe she forgot? He wanted to go to be there for the girls. After all, they were girls and girls needed to be protected. Or so he thought.
"Why are you following us, Tidus?" Kairi suddenly asked.
"Umm, I thought I would come..." He started to say.
"Go home, Tidus!" All three girls said at the same time.
"But I...."
"GO HOME, TIDUS!"
"But... I...."
"GO HOME, TIDUS!!!!" They yelled for the last time as he turned back and started walking the other way.
"Have fun without me...." Was the last thing he said as he trudged his way back home.
*~*
~When I'm stretched so thin~
*~*
AN: That was a good chapter. This chapter was very, very, very important. You shouldn't forget anything that is written in this one. BTW, if you haven't figured it out yet, all the things at the end of my chappies are from a Linkin Park song. I love Linkin Park!!! See you next chapter!!! (now I got to go find my evilness) =^.^= meow!!!
~The truth shall set you free~
Sora couldn't take his eyes off of where the water was. It soon disappeared after his chain fell in. He wondered why he couldn't see it laying on the street. He looked down to where his chain would have normally fallen. Not there. 'Was I hallucinating? That couldn't have been real. could it?' Sora thought as he went back to bed. He lay down and let sleep take him yet again.
'I'm getting really tired of these freaking dreams and hallucinations!' Sora said to himself as another dream popped into his head.
It was dark and Sora walked along a twisted road that ended up taking him to a crossroad. He looked around and wondered what to do and where to go next. There were three choices. He looked around some more wondering which path would take him home.
"Now what?" He said as he saw someone familiar walking towards him.
Christa didn't know where she was either. She came up to the same crossroad as that boy did. She didn't know who he was, entirely. She knew he was either Sora or Riku from her dreams about them as children.but as to which one he was, Christa was clueless.
"Hello." She said as she walked up to him. "Did you die and go to hell too?"
"Die? No. I fell asleep though." Sora said, grinning.
"Go figure! Now I'm alone again." She paused, "Oh well, it's always been like this and I guess it will stay that way." Christa said saddened by those thoughts.
"What do you mean? No one deserves to be alone forever." Sora said to her, frowning.
"No one except for me." Christa frowned and turned away.
"Why's that? Did you do something wrong?" Sora asked, curious.
"No, but everyone else around me did." She turned around and Sora looked at her, still curious. She continued, "I lived at Hallow Bastion and when I was seven my parents died. My uncle then took care of me. He was the greatest. So loving and caring. He was doing research to help the castle with some other people. When the research started to go wrong he fell into darkness. All of his coworkers died down in the waterways. They became shadows.
"He kept going and I visited him down there too, unaware of how dangerous he'd become. I watched from afar as he slowly lost his sanity and his life. That's when he stepped into the door up in the Hall. I ran over to the door to save him, and as he came out I realized he didn't need any help... I did." She paused, "He turned to the darkness within him and started to command the Heartless. Their first mission was to restrain me! His own niece!" Christa started to cry, "I almost lost my heart right there, but I escaped. It turns out that wandering the castle for 5 years helped me know where everything was.
"I got out of the Hall and ran down to the waterways. But the Heartless where down there too. They got me. My uncle stepped forward, with the Heartless symbol on his chest. He commanded them to throw me out of the castle. He said my heart wasn't worth the time of day. My own uncle said that!" The tears poured down her face, "I couldn't.... believe it! He....he threw me out of the.. the castle! And.... and....." She couldn't continue.
Sora moved closer to comfort her. 'Kairi's gonna kill me for this.' He thought as he timidly slid his hands around her and pulled her close. She continued to sob and hiccup in his arms. It has been so long since someone comforted her and held her so close. She felt drawn to him for some strange reason.
"It's okay." Was all Sora could tell her.
"No it's not!!!" She yelled as she looked up at him. Sora drew her closer as her sobs continued. "I've never had a real family!!! I'm an orphan!!! I'll always be an orphan!!!" She buried her face in his shirt, her tears started to wet it.
"Calm down, please." He grinned at her. His famous grin always worked.
She dried her eyes and calmed down. Christa's hiccups subsided and she looked at her feet. She was embarrassed for crying in front of him. She sat down on the crossroads and looked out at the darkness. Sora sat next to her and tried to figure out what she was looking at.
She thought about something, this guy seems very nice. No one's ever done something like that for her. Her heart hurt thinking about it. She stood up to make it seem like nothing was wrong. Christa took a step back as the pain became larger. She cried out and Sora got up to figure out what was wrong.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tidus had gotten Christa breathing again, but she hadn't woken up yet. Kairi, Nova, Christa, and him all went into the Seashore Shack for the night. They couldn't carry Christa back to the safe house the whole island was in because of the storm. Christa held a chain in her hand. Tidus noticed that she clutched it in her sleep as if something was hurting her. They tried before to take it out of her hand, but she wouldn't let go. It was strange, but he could've sworn that he's seen that chain before.
"Maybe we should lay her down somewhere? She looks like she's in pain." Kairi said to Tidus.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He replied back, laying her down on the sand that was the flooring to the Seashore Shack.
She was breathing heavily as if something was wrong. Tidus was really not good at stuff like this. Sure he could save people, but he sucked at taking care of them afterwards. He watched as Nova and Kairi helped each other take care of her.
When it seemed like she wasn't in pain anymore they just watched from afar. Soon the girls were all sleeping and Tidus was watching them. His eyelids drooped and he let his thoughts turn to dreams dancing in his head. He slept.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She cried out again as the pain became too much for her to handle. Sora once again drew her close. He clutched at her fading form with the attempt to keep her where he was. She was crying again, but not as if she was sad, she was in pain. Sora tried desperately to keep her with him, but nothing seemed to work.
They were on their knees now, holding on to each other. Wind whirled around them. A wind that seemed to come from nowhere, or maybe it came from Christa? She was yelling now. The pain was too much for her to bear and Sora held on to her, trying to stop her from thrashing around. Her form flickered in and out like the nobody he met and fought before.
Then, the screaming died down and she closed her eyes. Christa let her form disappear into nothing. There were only sparkles that faded as they fell to the floor. And Sora was left grasping to nothing but a memory of her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Manic looked up to the dark nighttime to see a small shooting star arch it's way across the sky.
"Now it's her turn..." He said to himself.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Riku sleepily looked up to what seemed to be a sky in this dark place and envisioned that a star fell down from it.
"Hmm..." he said as he drifted back into sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Whoa.. That was weird." Christa said sitting up. "Was that real? My chest really hurt...and I know that dreams aren't supposed to hurt..." She whispered.
"Oh! You're awake!" Nova said from the other side of the room. She crawled over and sat next to Christa. Nova was happy she was okay.
Christa didn't really say anything back to Nova. She wanted to tell Nova about the dream with Riku/Sora and how she felt about him. 'He was so kind to me and yet he didn't even know who I was.'
"Christa? Are you okay?" Nova said worried. She sensed something was wrong with her friend and she wanted to help so much.
"I'm fine don't worry about me! Just freaky dreams." Christa replied trying to seem as happy as possible. That's when she noticed the chain was still in her hand and clutched to her chest. Was that what was hurting her?
"Do you want to talk about it?" She said still worried.
"Not really. I'd feel a little uncomfortable talking about it." She didn't lie. She really didn't want to talk about anything like that.
Kairi stirred and sat up. "What's going on?" She asked rubbing sleep out if her eyes.
"Never mind.. I'll tell you later, Kairi." Nova said exasperated. She crawled back to the corner she was sleeping in and went back to her dream world.
"What's her problem?" Kairi asked.
"Girl! You know Nova's crazy!" Christa said and they both laughed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sora woke up in the hotel room. Donald and Goofy were shaking him. He stared at them like they were out of their minds.
"What's the matter?" Sora said as he noticed the worried expression on their faces. He was puzzled.
"You were stirring and mumbling in your sleep. We got worried that it was one of those strange dreams about Riku again." Donald told him.
"Oh..." He said unaffected by his dream. 'So bizarre...' "Nothing to worry about! Trust me!" He tried to make it seem okay so his friends wouldn't worry.
"Okie Dokie! If-a ya need anythin' we'll be in duh dining arena!" Goofy yelled back to his friend as Donald corrected him, "Area!!!!!"
Sora chuckled under his breath as his companions left the room arguing about spelling and grammar. "Leave it up to Donald and Goofy to make you laugh in the morning!" And he laughed again as he began to make his bed.
He showered and dressed after cleaning up the room they were sleeping in and left. He wanted to find Manic and ask something else. Something about that girl and his weird dreams.
He wanted to know why all this was happening to him and that girl. But there was a question he couldn't answer. Why did he put his arms around her like he'd done to Kairi? If she ever figured out about that incident, she'd kill him for sure. He smiled at the thought of Kairi. He missed her so much. Sora would give anything to see her again.
He walked the bleak streets. Although it was day, the rain clouds made it seem like night. He passed down the same blocks and buildings as yesterday afternoon. Admiring their bounty notices yet again. Sora didn't even know where to begin looking for Manic. He could be anywhere.
It started to rain and Sora raced to get under something so he wouldn't get wet. He bumped into some other people as he passed his way in. That's when he passed someone in a dark trench coat. He looked up and saw blond hair.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He sat in the corner of the library studying the wall and the door. Cloud was waiting for them to get back from the waterways. Aeris walked in first and ran right over to him.
"We did it!!!" She yelled as she threw her arms around him. He smirked a bit which he felt was totally not like him.
The others walked in as Aeris withdrew her arms from around his neck. He walked up to the others and nodded to each of them. He went to meet Leon out in the main entrance. Cid and Yuffie walked into the Library as he went out. They walked over to Aeris as she looked for a book.
"He actually smiled? Nice going, Aeris!" Yuffie said to her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was morning and the rays of the sun penetrated the wooden walls of the shack. Kairi was the first one up and she looked around puzzled. Was the storm really over? She got up and opened the door. The light almost blinded her. She ran out to the shore of the beach and looked up as a huge shooting star crossed the sky. Kairi put her hands behind her back in the usual stance she took.
'He might come home now!!! The door has opened again! The barriers are down!!!' She thought as the star slowly fell out of sight.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Christa asked as she walked up behind Kairi. "I guess that means that the barriers are down and the door is open again?" She continued when Kairi didn't answer.
"Yeah. Which also means that Sora can come back home." Kairi told Christa.
They both just stood there for a while looking at the waves as they crashed on the sand. If that boy in her dream really was Sora, Kairi would be heart broken. She loved him so much and probably missed him as much as that love.
Finally, Christa looked back at the shack and over to the island that was connected by a bridge. Sitting on that island was a Gummy Ship all ready to go. 'Strange....did that just appear there?' Her eyes traveled back to the Shack as Tidus and Nova appeared in the doorway. Kairi was still looking out into the ocean. Nova ran over to Christa and Kairi.
"Do you want to come, Nova?" Christa asked her.
"What do you mean, come?" Nova suspiciously said.
Christa pointed to the Gummy Ship still sitting on the island. "Look! Now we can go and find Sora. Are you coming?" She asked again.
Nova was surprised. She never thought that she would get the chance to leave the islands. She'd always lived in the city part of the island where the safe house was located. Just like Christa, her parents died when she was young. But someone was always there to take care of her. Her older brother was the only family member left. He was too good to her. Unfortunately, when the island was sucked into darkness he went with it. When it was restored, he was no where to be found.
Nova had thought that he went away, forever. That his heart was ripped out of his chest and.... She stopped herself she didn't want to think of it again. She wanted to find her brother, "I'm going with you guys!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Manic had found Sora yet again. The younger of the two was drenched. His hair sagged. They silently decided to go to somewhere better, where no one would hear them. They walked into a bar and sat down at a stall. They got some water from the waitress and Sora got a muffin for his breakfast. Manic watched as Sora devoured the helpless muffin, leaving nothing but a crumb. Then he licked his finger, got the crumb, and ate that too. Manic was scared... this was a Keyblade Master?
He stopped staring and sipped at his water. He wondered why Sora said he was looking for him. Maybe he was still puzzled or maybe he wanted to test his skills. When Manic was young and carefree, his friends would always battle each other and test out their skills. He wasn't the best, but Manic was a great fighter. Since he was only 18 he considered himself to be more experienced than Sora.
"What did you want me for?" Manic finally asked after putting his drink down.
Sora looked up and half grinned, "I've been having freaky dreams for a while now. I was wondering if it had anything to do with the Keyblade or my non-existing heart?" He asked, surprised at his own words.
"Well, I see you've been thinking about what I told you. What were your dreams about? Who did you see?" Manic cautiously asked.
"Umm, the first ones were of Riku and Ansem taking him away. Yea, he keeps showing up in my dreams somehow...." He shuddered at the thought of Ansem.
"I'm thinking that those dreams were of the past with your friend Riku?" Manic allowed Sora to finish.
"The next one was of Kairi and this other girl. The Secret Place was flooding and that girl was trying to save Kairi. Then a huge wave crashed over them and I couldn't breath or do anything." He took a breath, "I tried to save that girl from drowning but I couldn't do anything to help her. She died right there. Then I got washed ashore and saw Ansem. That girl was his niece. He said so himself!"
"Wow, that must've scared you a bit." Manic said like a psychiatrist.
"Yea it did. After that I had a vision, or something like that? I saw her fall into the water and I dropped my chain in the water and it actually fell in! And Kairi was looking for her, but couldn't find her." "It fell in?" Manic said puzzled. Now he was interested, "That could only mean that you two have a special bond, or are connected somehow?" 'That's weird...' "Anyway, continue, Sora." He said brushing the subject to the side.
"When I went back to bed, I had a dream about her. She was right there with me. I could actually feel her warmth. She is really messed up though. She told me this whole thing about her family and Ansem.. Then she disappeared. I'll never forget the look in her eyes. She looked so sad, like she hadn't smiled in a thousand years.." He looked down at the plate remembering her and the look she gave him. She was really depressed and Sora felt that he failed her.
"You're going to meet her. Don't worry, those dreams were meant to show you that. Don't let them bother you, no matter how real they seem to be." With that, Manic got up and left the bar. Sora was still staring at his plate wondering what to do if he actually did see her again. 'I didn't even catch her name...'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They headed back to the safe house passing people fixing their houses after the storm. They passed by everyone exchanging a "Hello!" and a "How are you?" "Nice day." Christa didn't say anything. Nova was right when she said it before. Christa didn't belong there. In fact, she didn't belong anywhere..
They made it, all four of them got back to the safe house. Nova grabbed her things and Christa changed out of her wet clothes to be more comfortable. She now wore dark blue Capri's and a red shirt, and of course, the dark red jacket that she wore around her waist. The chain she found in the water dangled at her side. The others were ready and they left as soon as possible.
Tidus followed them back to where the Gummy Ship sat, waiting for them. He wondered why Christa had never asked him to come too. Maybe she forgot? He wanted to go to be there for the girls. After all, they were girls and girls needed to be protected. Or so he thought.
"Why are you following us, Tidus?" Kairi suddenly asked.
"Umm, I thought I would come..." He started to say.
"Go home, Tidus!" All three girls said at the same time.
"But I...."
"GO HOME, TIDUS!"
"But... I...."
"GO HOME, TIDUS!!!!" They yelled for the last time as he turned back and started walking the other way.
"Have fun without me...." Was the last thing he said as he trudged his way back home.
*~*
~When I'm stretched so thin~
*~*
AN: That was a good chapter. This chapter was very, very, very important. You shouldn't forget anything that is written in this one. BTW, if you haven't figured it out yet, all the things at the end of my chappies are from a Linkin Park song. I love Linkin Park!!! See you next chapter!!! (now I got to go find my evilness) =^.^= meow!!!