Chapter Six: Forgotten Memories
~You can't find your happiness when someone's telling you what it is~
"Nova? Chris?" She paused to look around, "Where did everyone go?" Kairi walked out of the room about ten minutes after Nova did. She dawdled down the hallway while looking around. The servants were in a tizzy, trying to find a lost servant boy.
'Did the Heartless attack the castle?' She thought as she overheard one of the women thinking out loud about how kind he was, and so handsome too.
Now, Kairi was sprinting down the hallway, hoping to find her friends. She passed by some other servants who were starting to scrub every inch of the castle without a word. Only one or two looked up as she passed. She couldn't find Nova though.
A servant stopped her in the hallway and asked why she was running and where she was going.
"I have to find my friend. She's got black hair, purple eyes. Have you seen her?
Kairi caught her breath.
"Yes, she went towards the grand hall." Kairi nodded her head and went on her way towards the place the servant pointed out to her. When she made it there, she was face to face with Ansem and so was Nova.
Nova had her staff out ready to attack. Ansem blocked or dodged everything she threw at him. Kairi wished she could do something, but she was hopeless. Then, Ansem disappeared and Nova cursed as she could still feel his evil smile upon her.
"Grrrrr.. I'll get you next time, 'my liege'" She growled sarcastically.
She turned around and saw none other than Kairi, watching wide eyed. Nova put her staff away and went up to Kairi who was still frozen in that spot.
"Can you teach me magic, Nova?" She said out of nowhere.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What?! What are you talking about?"
"Do you forgive me, Christa? For all that I've done, for all I've put you through?" Remi asked again. They were still sitting in the closet, talking.
'He looks so cute right now, but how could I ever forgive him for all the pain?' She tried to weigh out the consequences of forgiving him. He was the one who told her to hide her feelings. Why should she forgive him? Because she loved him, that's why. 'What to do... What to do....?'
"We'll see." She finally said after standing up. She walked out of the closet door with Remi at her heels.
"Then at least let me come with you?!" He yelled when they had gotten a good distance away from the closet.
She spun around really fast and said, "I'm not sure if I...." But was cut off. Remi was right in front of her, no, practically touching her. He grabbed her hands and leaned in for the kill. And their lips touched, only for a brief second, but he kissed her.
She opened her eyes and looked into his. A single tear rolled down her cheek and she jumped up and hugged him.
"I forgive you!!! I forgive you!!!! I love you so much!!!!" She yelled as more tears fell.
"I've always loved you, Christa!" He said back to her. They stood there for a while in each other's arms. (AN: Aww isn't it touching?)
Nova and Kairi showed up behind Christa, each showing off their big cheesy grins, which meant they were very suspicious. "Oh! Christa! I see you have some other business to attend to! We'll go find Sora then!" They taunted.
Remi looked up and let go. So did Christa. She was bright red and he was too. Kairi and Nova giggled at the two.
"Is he coming now, too?" Nova asked the blushing teenager.
Christa slowly nodded as her skin turned back to its normal color. Remi walked up to Nova and Kairi to introduce himself and to get their names. Kairi was very friendly with him and practically told him her life story.
Nova, however, wouldn't cooperate. Instead of saying her name, the first words she uttered were: "Okay.... How old are you? And how long have you been stalking my little Christa?" Of course, Remi was taken aback. He mumbled back that he was 15 and he knew and liked Christa since he was 13. She approved of his answer and they walked into Aurora's room to tell her he was leaving.
They walked out to the Gummy Ship, got in, took off, and never looked back.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sora, Manic, Donald, and Goofy had been walking on that same path that Donald, Goofy and Sora had when they found Pluto. The dog disappeared as soon as they entered the city, which seemed like normal behavior for him. Sora of course walked with his hands behind his head. Goofy walked.... Goofily. Manic and Donald both slowly walked behind them.
They had been searching for a couple of hours for the Gummy blocks they'd seen in the sky. Or rather, falling from the sky. The road, of course, was never-ending and seemed to keep curving into the unreachable horizon. They kept going until Donald and Sora decided to rest.
"When do you think we'll find them?" Sora asked as he sat on a rock.
"For one thing, I think you're sitting on one." Manic said pointing to the rock.
Sure enough, that was a Gummy Block that Sora was sitting on.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Remi and Christa sat in the front of the Gummy Ship, Remi was driving. Nova was teaching Kairi some magic in the back. They were powerful, yet not that hard to cast. Christa could barely keep her eyes open and she drifted off to a dream world pretty soon, only to open her eyes a while later and jump up to an upright position in the chair. Another nightmare had woken her.
Remi took one worried look at her and almost crashed into an asteroid. She just kept looking out into the endless abyss of sky. She seemed preoccupied with the dream she had. It was a quick one, but it was still etched in her memory.
Nova called her name four times before she realized what was happening. Kairi went up to Christa and poked her on the shoulder. Christa jumped and turned around to look at her friends.
"Are you okay, Chris?" Remi said, beating Kairi to the chase. Christa forced a fake smile onto her face. They knew though. Nova stopped either of them from saying a word. She understood that Christa didn't want to talk about it. Remi kept on driving the Gummy Ship, hoping that he wouldn't hit anything.
The stars and other objects in space held Christa's attention until they made it to the next World. They stopped right in front of the Rose Castle, where the Beast and Belle lived together. Of course the Beast had been changed into human so when they went to the castle to ask of Sora, he didn't try to kill them.
The castle was buzzing with servants cleaning this and scrubbing that. Nova, Christa, Kairi, and Remi walked into the castle and were approached by a small man by the door. He bowed to the incoming guests and introduced himself as Cogs worth. He told the four teens about the history of the castle and about the prince being a beast before. He also told of the strange woman who cast the spell on them.
He then remembered to ask their names and to show them to the Library. That was where Belle loved to go with her prince. They would sit in the Library and read as many books as they could in one day. Cogs worth showed the teens into the room and introduced them to the couple sitting there, reading.
Kairi walked in first and Nova followed behind. Remi grabbed Christa's hand and they both walked forward together. They all walked slowly up to the place where the prince and Belle sat. They asked their question, was told the same thing the other worlds had told them, thanked Belle for helping, and left for their next destination.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Riku got up again and started to walk around after Nova had left. He'd never felt this way before. Sure there was Kairi and all, but she didn't have the same interests as Riku. She wasn't like him at all. Nova, however, was way different and it confused him. He was in love with someone. It wasn't like thinking someone was cute or nice. This was a really strong passion and he wasn't used to it.
The Nobodies were somewhere off in the distance toward the door. He decided to walk toward them. Maybe Nova was the reason he wanted to leave? Maybe, or it could just be him going insane. He stopped behind where all of them sat, waiting for the door of darkness to open. He stood, watching them sit there.
He soon sat too and just watched them. Soon his eyelids drooped and Riku found himself in another dream.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The Light Castle was dead ahead of the Gummy Ship. Nova and Kairi still practiced magic, trying to get the Firaga and Blizzaga and all the other ones down. Kairi soon got it and Nova asked her to do some things with her new found powers.
"Hey Kairi, I forgot to ask before, who did you leave Migo with?" Nova asked suddenly.
"I left him with Selphie. She didn't mind taking care of him." She paused, "Nova, I'm gonna take a nap now...." She decided and lay down. The spells had worn her out and she needed rest in order to restore her strength.
Christa fell asleep too, and luckily stayed that way until they landed near the Light Castle. She still had a nightmare though. Nothing seemed to stop them from invading her mind. It wasn't so bad though. The same old thing, Ansem stealing her heart or something like that.
Remi and Christa hopped out and let Nova watch over Kairi. They didn't want to wake her nor did they want to leave her alone in the Gummy Ship. So, Remi and Christa left hand in hand as Nova thought about how cute they were together. They walked into the castle and asked Snow White (the inhabitant) if she'd seen Sora. Of course, like so many others, she hadn't seen him since Kingdom Hearts was closed and the worlds were back in their rightful place.
Remi thanked Snow White and they left together. When they were far enough from the castle, Remi stopped.
"Are you okay, Chris?" He asked, worried about her.
"Yea, of course. Why do you ask?" She smiled a fake smile again to calm him.
He didn't buy it for a second, "Don't smile like that! I know it's not from your heart! I know you have terrifying nightmares and all, but if you don't let someone help you then it'll only get worse!" He tried to persuade her, but she turned down his help.
"I told you, I'm fine! They're just nightmares! Only a child gets scared by them."
"I'm still worried about you though! When you woke up from the last one, you just stared out into space like we weren't even there! Nova called your name four times before you answered! Are you sure you can handle this? I mean...." She cut him off before he could freak out on her more.
"Trust me!" And Christa walked away dismissing the subject. They got back into the ship and went onward to the next planet.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After assimilating all of the blocks to form one entire ship, Donald, Goofy, Sora, and Manic discussed what they were going to do with it. This, like so many other subjects they discussed, ended in an argument.
"You're not coming!!!!" Sora yelled at Donald.
"Yes we are!!!!" Donald yelled back.
Manic and Goofy stood as far away from them as humanly possible. They could still see them and all, but they didn't want to get involved.
"Do they always fight like this?" Manic turned to Goofy as he gave a cheerful, "Yup!" and they continued to watch.
The argument lasted for about twenty minutes, before Sora finished it. He clonked Donald on the head and the magician passed out. "Yes you are!" He yelled at the now unconcious Donald.
Then, Sora turned around to Manic and Goofy. "Goofy, take Donald home with you. Manic and I can handle this." Goofy nodded. They were going back to Disney Castle.
All three (four including Donald in Goofy's arms) climbed into the ship and went off to drop the two at Disney Castle.
When they arrived, Minnie was there to greet the two. She didn't know that Sora was with them though. Otherwise, she would've stopped him and sent him home. Manic and Sora left for the long journey to Kingdom Hearts to free Riku. He could've gone back home if he wanted to, but that wasn't an option until his best friend was with him.
Manic suggested that they head for Traverse Town first. So, Sora steered the ship in the opposite direction towards the giant town. They landed and headed for the first district. They decided to get Sora new clothes, since his red short and zipper shirt outfit was practically destroyed from Heartless battles.
He stepped into a shop and went out looking really different. He wore dark blue shorts with black baggy shorts to cover them, a red bag to his right side, some yellow belts were wrapped around the shorts, he now wore a dark blue shirt with red pockets, a black jacket with white trimmings here and there and a hood, and black gloves with white, blue, and yellow on them. His crown chain still fell from his neck. But something was missing, his chain that dangled from the side. He never realized how much he'd miss it.
They went on throughout the city looking at all the shops. Then, manic turned down an alley way. Sora followed as quickly as he could. When Manic stopped walking so fast, Sora almost ran right into him. Mickey was in front of them and so was the fake Riku. Sora was wondering why that thing wasn't following Manic around anymore.
Manic turned back around to Sora and took both Keyblades out. He told Sora to try it. He was afraid though. He was scared that they wouldn't come when he called them forth. He tried to bring the Faerie Harp and the Oathkeeper, but only one showed itself. He flicked his wrist and it was gone. Sora tried again. Only one showed like before. He kept on bringing forth one and another never showed.
Finally Manic stepped forward. "Call the Oathkeeper out. And then the Oblivion." He instructed. Sora then looked down at Manic's hands. He was holding both those Keyblades. 'Wait a minute! How did he get the Oathkeeper?' Sora thought to himself.
He brushed the thought off and called the Oathkeeper forward. As soon as it came, Manic's disappeared. And Ultima Weapon showed up in its place. The Oblivion also showed up with the Oathkeeper. As soon as it showed up, however, Manic's was still there.
"What the...." He said surprised.
"That's what I thought too when I realized it. Your Keyblade before disappeared because I had the Oathkeeper and you tried to summon that particular one. It's because the Oathkeeper is a special Keyblade from a friend. I can wield it because I'm a Keyblade Master like you." Sora understood everything now. Manic had the Oathkeeper because all the Keyblade Masters got the same Keyblades, but they had to share because it was one of a kind. It's a good thing there's only four of them!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Christa played with her little key necklace, letting it roll in between her fingers and fall into her palm. It was so weird. She had the key, but why didn't she have the Keyblade? That was such a puzzling issue. She was also worried about when Ansem might strike again. Christa had no idea what he was trying to do to her before. What if he tried again?
Kairi had gotten all the spells down. All the spells she could learn to cast she learned of and got them down pact. Now she could help defend her friends and herself and maybe even Sora when they found him. They only had one castle to go. It was Castle Faith. Cinderella lived there with her Prince Charming. They'd all heard the story before, even Remi.
Christa was thinking of the Castle and playing with her Key necklace, when a screen beeped on in the corner of the windshield. Queen Minnie was calling them from Disney Castle. Or rather, she was calling Christa.
"Hello, dear heart." She said as soon as she saw Christa's face. The others looked over Christa's seat to see the queen.
"Hello, Your Majesty. We're about to head over to Castle Faith. Is anything wrong?" She asked courteously.
"Not really, it's just that the knight and the magician who were with Sora are now here without him and we can't call him. We don't have the identification number of the ship he's in. No need to worry about it though! We just wanted to know if you've found him yet?"
"No, I'm sorry we haven't found him, but we will. Goodbye." And she turned the monitor off. "And don't ever call me dear heart ever again!!!!" She yelled at the now blank screen. No one said a word. They all sank back into their chairs, scared to even breath.
They made it to Castle Faith and parked the Gummy Ship out side of it. Remi, Nova, and Kairi walked behind Christa as she trudged up the mountain. They started to talk about her and make a pact.
"What should we do about Christa's nightmares?" Remi whispered.
"They're starting to freak her out, I can tell. She hesitates before she falls asleep and when she does, Christa only sleeps for a couple of hours." Kairi mentioned.
"Well, we could watch over her tonight, you know. Guard her or something." Said Nova.
"We should each watch for three hours while the other two sleep. That way we get six hours and Christa gets nine. Right?" Remi suggested.
"That sounds good. I'll go first, Kairi, you'll go after me, and Remi, you go after Kairi. If she starts to have a bad dream, wake her up immediately." They all nodded their heads at Nova's plan and continued to follow Christa.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Riku heard a maniacal laugh and spun around quickly to see the man who caused the pain in his heart. He saw that deadly man with yellow eyes and white tinted lavender hair. The one guy who single handedly destroyed his friend ship with Sora. Ansem was the worst person, no, creature who ever walked the face of a planet.
He had tried to destroy the worlds and plunge everyone into darkness, he had taken over Riku and forced him to fight his best friend, and he had locked Riku into Kingdom Hearts where he'd fallen asleep. That was right, this was a dream. But Riku knew it was too real and had to mean something.
"Hello, slave." Ansem said with a smirk appearing on his face. "Humph!" Riku replied to the statement, "I'm no slave to you! Get away!!! Stay out of my dreams!"
"But, I thought you needed me? After all, you don't have a heart and neither do I. Shouldn't we stick together, like Father and Son do?"
"I'm not your son, first of all. Second, I hate your guts!!!! And Thirdly, Father and Son don't stick together! They get forced to hang out by the woman of the house and they hate it!!" Riku abruptly turned away hoping that he could just wake up.
"Are you sore at me? Your Master?" And with that, Ansem raised his dark fist and a red aura began to surround Riku. He fell to one knee and clutched his chest as his "heart" began to burn. Poor Riku cried out in anguish and pain as the torture continued and he found himself enveloped in a huge aura.
"STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He screamed and the aura subsided and was replaced by a blue one. He faced Ansem once to give him the death glare and then sprinted off.
He woke to the sound of a woman's voice. It was that Nobody that he'd met before. The woman Nobody. She looked at him with those same sympathetic purple eyes as before. She helped him up and they walked together.
"So, Ansem plagues your mind like he once did your body?" She suddenly asked.
"I guess so. But by plague you mean take over, right?" Riku said, raising a suspicious eyebrow.
"Of course!" She said, taken aback that he'd even think she meant that. "I hope you are now ready to hear of the prophecy?"
"I have nothing better to do....." Riku replied, looking at the ground.
"It says something about the Keyblade Masters and that one of them is the Hope of All creation. At the exact moment when he or she realizes it and pulls out the Hope Keyblade a voice will speak to them. It will ask them questions and tell them of things. Like a guide."
Riku instantly became interested at the mention of the Keyblade Masters. After all, he was one. He could be the Hope. "What will it say to them?" He asked like a small kid.
"It will tell them that when light turns to dark, the calm becomes the storm. And when reality is a dream, then good must face evil. Also that courage is the key to unlock their destiny." She finished as the first Nobody came over to them. He summoned the woman Nobody to him and they walked over to the door.
Riku was alone again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They had successfully made it into the castle and had asked Cinderella if she'd seen Sora. She of course, said no and offered them to spend the night at the castle. Remi, like the high and mighty idiot he is, turned down the offer and told Cinderella that they'd spend the night in a hotel. So, they walked to the small city surrounding the castle and found a hotel.
They got one room and that night they got ready for bed. Nova and Christa pushed their two beds together and Kairi pulled the cot to the edge of their newly formed super bed. Remi, because he was now labeled as the high and mighty idiot, had to sleep on the couch.
After Christa had fallen asleep, Nova stayed up watching her for three hours. She didn't even stir. Then, it was Kairi's turn. However, Kairi couldn't stay awake and fell asleep after a half an hour of watching her. So, Christa ended up having a nightmare and it was worse than the last ones.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Christa walked throughout a darkened city looking for her friends. No one was around. No one. Then, she heard her name being called from behind. She spun around on her heel and saw Kairi and Nova slowly running towards her. Christa smiled and waved to her friends who seemed to run in slow motion.
That's when she spotted a Heartless behind them. It was running faster than her friends and she feared that it may hurt them. Christa tried desperately to yell to her friends that the monster was behind them, but no words escaped her lips. She tried again, but nothing came. So, she tried to run to them, but her feet were chained to the ground. She looks up as she hears a scream escape from Kairi's mouth.
And she can't tear her eyes away as both of her best friends are killed in front of her eyes. She falls to her knees and hopes that the Heartless takes her too. Christa hears light footsteps approaching her and she looks up to see a girl with the same green eyes as her. As a matter of fact, the only difference between the girl and Christa is the girls hair. Instead of it being short and red, it's long and has black streaks in it.
Christa stands back up and the chains disappear. The girl smirks at Christa and then begins to speak.
"You killed them. You killed my friends. And you'll kill the rest of the worlds along with them." She stopped and Christa couldn't believe this was happening.
"What? No I didn't! I.. I tried to save them, but I couldn't!" She argued.
"You could! I know it! You just didn't want to!"
"Why wouldn't I want to?"
"Because you're Ansem's niece and he's gotten to you." And the girl was gone.
Christa stood there shocked for about a minute. She fell back down to her knees realizing that what the girl said was true and screamed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She woke up with a start when she heard thunder crash and saw a flash of lightening. She got out of bed. It was 2:30 in the morning. Christa still wore the pajamas she'd fallen asleep in and she got on her shoes and a jacket. It was pouring when she stepped out of the hotel, but she didn't bother putting her hood up.
After walking for about a half an hour, she was thoroughly drenched. She couldn't go on anymore. Christa became dizzy and realized that she was becoming sick. Her back hit a wall and she slid down it and pulled her knees to her chest, cradling herself. She was cold and wet and she had a fever. Soon, she found herself dozing, when someone helped her up onto their back and carried her off into the city.
*~*
~Watching everything spin~
*~*
AN: I hope you liked this chappy! But, I'm gonna leave you with that so far. I'm sorry to say that I'll be on vacation this weekend, so I won't be back for a while! Sorry to all my loyal fans (I don't have many). I'll see you in chappy 7!!!!!!!! =^.^=Meow!!!
~You can't find your happiness when someone's telling you what it is~
"Nova? Chris?" She paused to look around, "Where did everyone go?" Kairi walked out of the room about ten minutes after Nova did. She dawdled down the hallway while looking around. The servants were in a tizzy, trying to find a lost servant boy.
'Did the Heartless attack the castle?' She thought as she overheard one of the women thinking out loud about how kind he was, and so handsome too.
Now, Kairi was sprinting down the hallway, hoping to find her friends. She passed by some other servants who were starting to scrub every inch of the castle without a word. Only one or two looked up as she passed. She couldn't find Nova though.
A servant stopped her in the hallway and asked why she was running and where she was going.
"I have to find my friend. She's got black hair, purple eyes. Have you seen her?
Kairi caught her breath.
"Yes, she went towards the grand hall." Kairi nodded her head and went on her way towards the place the servant pointed out to her. When she made it there, she was face to face with Ansem and so was Nova.
Nova had her staff out ready to attack. Ansem blocked or dodged everything she threw at him. Kairi wished she could do something, but she was hopeless. Then, Ansem disappeared and Nova cursed as she could still feel his evil smile upon her.
"Grrrrr.. I'll get you next time, 'my liege'" She growled sarcastically.
She turned around and saw none other than Kairi, watching wide eyed. Nova put her staff away and went up to Kairi who was still frozen in that spot.
"Can you teach me magic, Nova?" She said out of nowhere.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What?! What are you talking about?"
"Do you forgive me, Christa? For all that I've done, for all I've put you through?" Remi asked again. They were still sitting in the closet, talking.
'He looks so cute right now, but how could I ever forgive him for all the pain?' She tried to weigh out the consequences of forgiving him. He was the one who told her to hide her feelings. Why should she forgive him? Because she loved him, that's why. 'What to do... What to do....?'
"We'll see." She finally said after standing up. She walked out of the closet door with Remi at her heels.
"Then at least let me come with you?!" He yelled when they had gotten a good distance away from the closet.
She spun around really fast and said, "I'm not sure if I...." But was cut off. Remi was right in front of her, no, practically touching her. He grabbed her hands and leaned in for the kill. And their lips touched, only for a brief second, but he kissed her.
She opened her eyes and looked into his. A single tear rolled down her cheek and she jumped up and hugged him.
"I forgive you!!! I forgive you!!!! I love you so much!!!!" She yelled as more tears fell.
"I've always loved you, Christa!" He said back to her. They stood there for a while in each other's arms. (AN: Aww isn't it touching?)
Nova and Kairi showed up behind Christa, each showing off their big cheesy grins, which meant they were very suspicious. "Oh! Christa! I see you have some other business to attend to! We'll go find Sora then!" They taunted.
Remi looked up and let go. So did Christa. She was bright red and he was too. Kairi and Nova giggled at the two.
"Is he coming now, too?" Nova asked the blushing teenager.
Christa slowly nodded as her skin turned back to its normal color. Remi walked up to Nova and Kairi to introduce himself and to get their names. Kairi was very friendly with him and practically told him her life story.
Nova, however, wouldn't cooperate. Instead of saying her name, the first words she uttered were: "Okay.... How old are you? And how long have you been stalking my little Christa?" Of course, Remi was taken aback. He mumbled back that he was 15 and he knew and liked Christa since he was 13. She approved of his answer and they walked into Aurora's room to tell her he was leaving.
They walked out to the Gummy Ship, got in, took off, and never looked back.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sora, Manic, Donald, and Goofy had been walking on that same path that Donald, Goofy and Sora had when they found Pluto. The dog disappeared as soon as they entered the city, which seemed like normal behavior for him. Sora of course walked with his hands behind his head. Goofy walked.... Goofily. Manic and Donald both slowly walked behind them.
They had been searching for a couple of hours for the Gummy blocks they'd seen in the sky. Or rather, falling from the sky. The road, of course, was never-ending and seemed to keep curving into the unreachable horizon. They kept going until Donald and Sora decided to rest.
"When do you think we'll find them?" Sora asked as he sat on a rock.
"For one thing, I think you're sitting on one." Manic said pointing to the rock.
Sure enough, that was a Gummy Block that Sora was sitting on.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Remi and Christa sat in the front of the Gummy Ship, Remi was driving. Nova was teaching Kairi some magic in the back. They were powerful, yet not that hard to cast. Christa could barely keep her eyes open and she drifted off to a dream world pretty soon, only to open her eyes a while later and jump up to an upright position in the chair. Another nightmare had woken her.
Remi took one worried look at her and almost crashed into an asteroid. She just kept looking out into the endless abyss of sky. She seemed preoccupied with the dream she had. It was a quick one, but it was still etched in her memory.
Nova called her name four times before she realized what was happening. Kairi went up to Christa and poked her on the shoulder. Christa jumped and turned around to look at her friends.
"Are you okay, Chris?" Remi said, beating Kairi to the chase. Christa forced a fake smile onto her face. They knew though. Nova stopped either of them from saying a word. She understood that Christa didn't want to talk about it. Remi kept on driving the Gummy Ship, hoping that he wouldn't hit anything.
The stars and other objects in space held Christa's attention until they made it to the next World. They stopped right in front of the Rose Castle, where the Beast and Belle lived together. Of course the Beast had been changed into human so when they went to the castle to ask of Sora, he didn't try to kill them.
The castle was buzzing with servants cleaning this and scrubbing that. Nova, Christa, Kairi, and Remi walked into the castle and were approached by a small man by the door. He bowed to the incoming guests and introduced himself as Cogs worth. He told the four teens about the history of the castle and about the prince being a beast before. He also told of the strange woman who cast the spell on them.
He then remembered to ask their names and to show them to the Library. That was where Belle loved to go with her prince. They would sit in the Library and read as many books as they could in one day. Cogs worth showed the teens into the room and introduced them to the couple sitting there, reading.
Kairi walked in first and Nova followed behind. Remi grabbed Christa's hand and they both walked forward together. They all walked slowly up to the place where the prince and Belle sat. They asked their question, was told the same thing the other worlds had told them, thanked Belle for helping, and left for their next destination.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Riku got up again and started to walk around after Nova had left. He'd never felt this way before. Sure there was Kairi and all, but she didn't have the same interests as Riku. She wasn't like him at all. Nova, however, was way different and it confused him. He was in love with someone. It wasn't like thinking someone was cute or nice. This was a really strong passion and he wasn't used to it.
The Nobodies were somewhere off in the distance toward the door. He decided to walk toward them. Maybe Nova was the reason he wanted to leave? Maybe, or it could just be him going insane. He stopped behind where all of them sat, waiting for the door of darkness to open. He stood, watching them sit there.
He soon sat too and just watched them. Soon his eyelids drooped and Riku found himself in another dream.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The Light Castle was dead ahead of the Gummy Ship. Nova and Kairi still practiced magic, trying to get the Firaga and Blizzaga and all the other ones down. Kairi soon got it and Nova asked her to do some things with her new found powers.
"Hey Kairi, I forgot to ask before, who did you leave Migo with?" Nova asked suddenly.
"I left him with Selphie. She didn't mind taking care of him." She paused, "Nova, I'm gonna take a nap now...." She decided and lay down. The spells had worn her out and she needed rest in order to restore her strength.
Christa fell asleep too, and luckily stayed that way until they landed near the Light Castle. She still had a nightmare though. Nothing seemed to stop them from invading her mind. It wasn't so bad though. The same old thing, Ansem stealing her heart or something like that.
Remi and Christa hopped out and let Nova watch over Kairi. They didn't want to wake her nor did they want to leave her alone in the Gummy Ship. So, Remi and Christa left hand in hand as Nova thought about how cute they were together. They walked into the castle and asked Snow White (the inhabitant) if she'd seen Sora. Of course, like so many others, she hadn't seen him since Kingdom Hearts was closed and the worlds were back in their rightful place.
Remi thanked Snow White and they left together. When they were far enough from the castle, Remi stopped.
"Are you okay, Chris?" He asked, worried about her.
"Yea, of course. Why do you ask?" She smiled a fake smile again to calm him.
He didn't buy it for a second, "Don't smile like that! I know it's not from your heart! I know you have terrifying nightmares and all, but if you don't let someone help you then it'll only get worse!" He tried to persuade her, but she turned down his help.
"I told you, I'm fine! They're just nightmares! Only a child gets scared by them."
"I'm still worried about you though! When you woke up from the last one, you just stared out into space like we weren't even there! Nova called your name four times before you answered! Are you sure you can handle this? I mean...." She cut him off before he could freak out on her more.
"Trust me!" And Christa walked away dismissing the subject. They got back into the ship and went onward to the next planet.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After assimilating all of the blocks to form one entire ship, Donald, Goofy, Sora, and Manic discussed what they were going to do with it. This, like so many other subjects they discussed, ended in an argument.
"You're not coming!!!!" Sora yelled at Donald.
"Yes we are!!!!" Donald yelled back.
Manic and Goofy stood as far away from them as humanly possible. They could still see them and all, but they didn't want to get involved.
"Do they always fight like this?" Manic turned to Goofy as he gave a cheerful, "Yup!" and they continued to watch.
The argument lasted for about twenty minutes, before Sora finished it. He clonked Donald on the head and the magician passed out. "Yes you are!" He yelled at the now unconcious Donald.
Then, Sora turned around to Manic and Goofy. "Goofy, take Donald home with you. Manic and I can handle this." Goofy nodded. They were going back to Disney Castle.
All three (four including Donald in Goofy's arms) climbed into the ship and went off to drop the two at Disney Castle.
When they arrived, Minnie was there to greet the two. She didn't know that Sora was with them though. Otherwise, she would've stopped him and sent him home. Manic and Sora left for the long journey to Kingdom Hearts to free Riku. He could've gone back home if he wanted to, but that wasn't an option until his best friend was with him.
Manic suggested that they head for Traverse Town first. So, Sora steered the ship in the opposite direction towards the giant town. They landed and headed for the first district. They decided to get Sora new clothes, since his red short and zipper shirt outfit was practically destroyed from Heartless battles.
He stepped into a shop and went out looking really different. He wore dark blue shorts with black baggy shorts to cover them, a red bag to his right side, some yellow belts were wrapped around the shorts, he now wore a dark blue shirt with red pockets, a black jacket with white trimmings here and there and a hood, and black gloves with white, blue, and yellow on them. His crown chain still fell from his neck. But something was missing, his chain that dangled from the side. He never realized how much he'd miss it.
They went on throughout the city looking at all the shops. Then, manic turned down an alley way. Sora followed as quickly as he could. When Manic stopped walking so fast, Sora almost ran right into him. Mickey was in front of them and so was the fake Riku. Sora was wondering why that thing wasn't following Manic around anymore.
Manic turned back around to Sora and took both Keyblades out. He told Sora to try it. He was afraid though. He was scared that they wouldn't come when he called them forth. He tried to bring the Faerie Harp and the Oathkeeper, but only one showed itself. He flicked his wrist and it was gone. Sora tried again. Only one showed like before. He kept on bringing forth one and another never showed.
Finally Manic stepped forward. "Call the Oathkeeper out. And then the Oblivion." He instructed. Sora then looked down at Manic's hands. He was holding both those Keyblades. 'Wait a minute! How did he get the Oathkeeper?' Sora thought to himself.
He brushed the thought off and called the Oathkeeper forward. As soon as it came, Manic's disappeared. And Ultima Weapon showed up in its place. The Oblivion also showed up with the Oathkeeper. As soon as it showed up, however, Manic's was still there.
"What the...." He said surprised.
"That's what I thought too when I realized it. Your Keyblade before disappeared because I had the Oathkeeper and you tried to summon that particular one. It's because the Oathkeeper is a special Keyblade from a friend. I can wield it because I'm a Keyblade Master like you." Sora understood everything now. Manic had the Oathkeeper because all the Keyblade Masters got the same Keyblades, but they had to share because it was one of a kind. It's a good thing there's only four of them!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Christa played with her little key necklace, letting it roll in between her fingers and fall into her palm. It was so weird. She had the key, but why didn't she have the Keyblade? That was such a puzzling issue. She was also worried about when Ansem might strike again. Christa had no idea what he was trying to do to her before. What if he tried again?
Kairi had gotten all the spells down. All the spells she could learn to cast she learned of and got them down pact. Now she could help defend her friends and herself and maybe even Sora when they found him. They only had one castle to go. It was Castle Faith. Cinderella lived there with her Prince Charming. They'd all heard the story before, even Remi.
Christa was thinking of the Castle and playing with her Key necklace, when a screen beeped on in the corner of the windshield. Queen Minnie was calling them from Disney Castle. Or rather, she was calling Christa.
"Hello, dear heart." She said as soon as she saw Christa's face. The others looked over Christa's seat to see the queen.
"Hello, Your Majesty. We're about to head over to Castle Faith. Is anything wrong?" She asked courteously.
"Not really, it's just that the knight and the magician who were with Sora are now here without him and we can't call him. We don't have the identification number of the ship he's in. No need to worry about it though! We just wanted to know if you've found him yet?"
"No, I'm sorry we haven't found him, but we will. Goodbye." And she turned the monitor off. "And don't ever call me dear heart ever again!!!!" She yelled at the now blank screen. No one said a word. They all sank back into their chairs, scared to even breath.
They made it to Castle Faith and parked the Gummy Ship out side of it. Remi, Nova, and Kairi walked behind Christa as she trudged up the mountain. They started to talk about her and make a pact.
"What should we do about Christa's nightmares?" Remi whispered.
"They're starting to freak her out, I can tell. She hesitates before she falls asleep and when she does, Christa only sleeps for a couple of hours." Kairi mentioned.
"Well, we could watch over her tonight, you know. Guard her or something." Said Nova.
"We should each watch for three hours while the other two sleep. That way we get six hours and Christa gets nine. Right?" Remi suggested.
"That sounds good. I'll go first, Kairi, you'll go after me, and Remi, you go after Kairi. If she starts to have a bad dream, wake her up immediately." They all nodded their heads at Nova's plan and continued to follow Christa.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Riku heard a maniacal laugh and spun around quickly to see the man who caused the pain in his heart. He saw that deadly man with yellow eyes and white tinted lavender hair. The one guy who single handedly destroyed his friend ship with Sora. Ansem was the worst person, no, creature who ever walked the face of a planet.
He had tried to destroy the worlds and plunge everyone into darkness, he had taken over Riku and forced him to fight his best friend, and he had locked Riku into Kingdom Hearts where he'd fallen asleep. That was right, this was a dream. But Riku knew it was too real and had to mean something.
"Hello, slave." Ansem said with a smirk appearing on his face. "Humph!" Riku replied to the statement, "I'm no slave to you! Get away!!! Stay out of my dreams!"
"But, I thought you needed me? After all, you don't have a heart and neither do I. Shouldn't we stick together, like Father and Son do?"
"I'm not your son, first of all. Second, I hate your guts!!!! And Thirdly, Father and Son don't stick together! They get forced to hang out by the woman of the house and they hate it!!" Riku abruptly turned away hoping that he could just wake up.
"Are you sore at me? Your Master?" And with that, Ansem raised his dark fist and a red aura began to surround Riku. He fell to one knee and clutched his chest as his "heart" began to burn. Poor Riku cried out in anguish and pain as the torture continued and he found himself enveloped in a huge aura.
"STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He screamed and the aura subsided and was replaced by a blue one. He faced Ansem once to give him the death glare and then sprinted off.
He woke to the sound of a woman's voice. It was that Nobody that he'd met before. The woman Nobody. She looked at him with those same sympathetic purple eyes as before. She helped him up and they walked together.
"So, Ansem plagues your mind like he once did your body?" She suddenly asked.
"I guess so. But by plague you mean take over, right?" Riku said, raising a suspicious eyebrow.
"Of course!" She said, taken aback that he'd even think she meant that. "I hope you are now ready to hear of the prophecy?"
"I have nothing better to do....." Riku replied, looking at the ground.
"It says something about the Keyblade Masters and that one of them is the Hope of All creation. At the exact moment when he or she realizes it and pulls out the Hope Keyblade a voice will speak to them. It will ask them questions and tell them of things. Like a guide."
Riku instantly became interested at the mention of the Keyblade Masters. After all, he was one. He could be the Hope. "What will it say to them?" He asked like a small kid.
"It will tell them that when light turns to dark, the calm becomes the storm. And when reality is a dream, then good must face evil. Also that courage is the key to unlock their destiny." She finished as the first Nobody came over to them. He summoned the woman Nobody to him and they walked over to the door.
Riku was alone again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They had successfully made it into the castle and had asked Cinderella if she'd seen Sora. She of course, said no and offered them to spend the night at the castle. Remi, like the high and mighty idiot he is, turned down the offer and told Cinderella that they'd spend the night in a hotel. So, they walked to the small city surrounding the castle and found a hotel.
They got one room and that night they got ready for bed. Nova and Christa pushed their two beds together and Kairi pulled the cot to the edge of their newly formed super bed. Remi, because he was now labeled as the high and mighty idiot, had to sleep on the couch.
After Christa had fallen asleep, Nova stayed up watching her for three hours. She didn't even stir. Then, it was Kairi's turn. However, Kairi couldn't stay awake and fell asleep after a half an hour of watching her. So, Christa ended up having a nightmare and it was worse than the last ones.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Christa walked throughout a darkened city looking for her friends. No one was around. No one. Then, she heard her name being called from behind. She spun around on her heel and saw Kairi and Nova slowly running towards her. Christa smiled and waved to her friends who seemed to run in slow motion.
That's when she spotted a Heartless behind them. It was running faster than her friends and she feared that it may hurt them. Christa tried desperately to yell to her friends that the monster was behind them, but no words escaped her lips. She tried again, but nothing came. So, she tried to run to them, but her feet were chained to the ground. She looks up as she hears a scream escape from Kairi's mouth.
And she can't tear her eyes away as both of her best friends are killed in front of her eyes. She falls to her knees and hopes that the Heartless takes her too. Christa hears light footsteps approaching her and she looks up to see a girl with the same green eyes as her. As a matter of fact, the only difference between the girl and Christa is the girls hair. Instead of it being short and red, it's long and has black streaks in it.
Christa stands back up and the chains disappear. The girl smirks at Christa and then begins to speak.
"You killed them. You killed my friends. And you'll kill the rest of the worlds along with them." She stopped and Christa couldn't believe this was happening.
"What? No I didn't! I.. I tried to save them, but I couldn't!" She argued.
"You could! I know it! You just didn't want to!"
"Why wouldn't I want to?"
"Because you're Ansem's niece and he's gotten to you." And the girl was gone.
Christa stood there shocked for about a minute. She fell back down to her knees realizing that what the girl said was true and screamed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She woke up with a start when she heard thunder crash and saw a flash of lightening. She got out of bed. It was 2:30 in the morning. Christa still wore the pajamas she'd fallen asleep in and she got on her shoes and a jacket. It was pouring when she stepped out of the hotel, but she didn't bother putting her hood up.
After walking for about a half an hour, she was thoroughly drenched. She couldn't go on anymore. Christa became dizzy and realized that she was becoming sick. Her back hit a wall and she slid down it and pulled her knees to her chest, cradling herself. She was cold and wet and she had a fever. Soon, she found herself dozing, when someone helped her up onto their back and carried her off into the city.
*~*
~Watching everything spin~
*~*
AN: I hope you liked this chappy! But, I'm gonna leave you with that so far. I'm sorry to say that I'll be on vacation this weekend, so I won't be back for a while! Sorry to all my loyal fans (I don't have many). I'll see you in chappy 7!!!!!!!! =^.^=Meow!!!