Title: Reflections: Kairi ( 3 / ? )
Author name: Ari Powwel
Author email: eight_muses@hotmail.com
Spoilers: . . . a lot . . .
Summary: Fwee, this chapter has a lot more of the character interacting, more of Riku's stories, more revelations on what's happening to Kairi—basically, this chapter is better than the previous two! ^_^;;
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by various publishers including but not limited to Disney Interactive and Square Co., Ltd. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Here ya go, you get to learn more about what's happening!! =^_^=
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I wasn't sure how long we travelled, suspended between light and dark. I was rather lost in my own thoughts. What, exactly, had happened to me? How was it I could enter Riku's mind? I kept asking, although I knew I would receive no answer.

We reached the other end, our destination. Riku nearly fell as he was pushed through, but he somersaulted and landed on his feet. I smiled. Although everything we had once held true had been twisted inside itself, Riku was still Riku. And nothing was going to change that. As he straightened, I looked around. That door . . . I gazed upon a large red door, a flame upon it glowing eerily. There was something behind it . . . calling for me . . . I felt the same harsh pull as I had in Hollow Bastion, and my perspective of the world changed once again.

I stood in a musty old house, walls dark and rough. I reached behind my back and grasped the other arm. 'There's something about this musty place . . .' I murmured to myself. Then I turned and saw Sora looking right at me. I wondered why only he and Riku had been able to see me as I said, 'It reminds me of the Secret Place back home, where we used to scribble on the walls. Remember?' I smiled at him.

'. . . Kairi?' Sora asked, but turned away as the dog-person said his name. When he turned back around, I blinked, and only saw a stone wall. What? Where did she go? A voice went through my head and I smiled, knowing this time that I was seeing things from Sora's point of view, sort of an extra passenger. Wasn't Kairi just there?

'Well, well . . .' a deep, old-sounding voice rumbled. 'You've arrived earlier than I expected.'

Sora jumped. Who's that?! 'Wha . . . you knew we were coming?'

'Of course,' the man replied. He had a long grey beard that flowed over a blue robe. A tall, blue pointed hat sat on his head, and I guessed that he probably long grey hair, as well. A pair of round spectacles sat on his nose, and he carried a small carpetbag.

'Are you . . . a Heartless?' Sora asked suspiciously.

'He doesn't look like one,' the duck pointed out. Donald's right . . . said Sora.

The man chuckled. 'Oh, my, no. My name is Merlin. As you can see, I am a sorcerer.' He motioned to his clothing. 'I spend much of my time travelling. It's good to be home . . . your king has requested my help.

'King Mickey?' the dogperson asked.

'Yes, indeed,' Merlin answered. 'Donald, Goofy.' He nodded to the two, then looked at Sora. 'And who might you be, young man?'

'I'm Sora,' Sora introduced himself. So he's a sorcerer . . . maybe he can teach me more magic!

My eyes widened upon hearing the thought. 'You can do magic?' The next moment, I frowned. Why would he be able to hear me?

'Ahh,' Merlin nodded. 'So, you have found the key.'

'What did the king ask you to do?' Donald asked.

'Just a moment . . .' Merlin said, bending and opening his carpetbag. He climbed the steps to a large circular platform, then hummed a bit. 'Presto!' he began, then danced a bit, singing a nonsense song—Sora said it was a spell, though—as all his possessions floated out and around him. In no time at all, the room was filled, a table and chairs standing on the circular platform. A bed, stood against the wall, a small stand on either side. There were shelves of books set at random intervals around the room, and a pile of books graced the floor in front of one. I gazed around the room in wonder; had all of this come from that small bag?

'There now,' Merlin said. He cleared his throat, 'Your king asked me to train you in the art of magic. We can start anytime you like. Let me know when you're ready to begin the training. Oh, yes, and one more thing.' He gestured toward a small light green pumpkin-like carriage. A small poof came from it, startling me, and a light smoke enveloped it. When it cleared, another figure stood in the room with them.

The woman had short grey hair, partially hidden under the hood of her blue robe, the sleeves of which only reached to her elbows. A pink bow was tied under the hood's bottom, and a smile graced the woman's face. 'Hello,' she said. 'I'm the Fairy Godmother. Your king asked my to help, too. I will assist throughout your journey.'

'I do not know how much I can be of help, but do stop by anytime,' Merlin told the four of us.

'Oh!' Sora suddenly said. I almost forgot . . . 'Here, I have something for you.' He rummaged in a small bag and pulled out a small, thin book, then passed it to the sorcerer.

'Oh, that book . . .' Merlin accepted it with a smile. 'So, Cid asked you to bring this. Thank you. You wish to know what kind of book it is?' I imagined that Sora had opened his mouth to ask the question, here, but Merlin had cut him off. 'I don't even know, myself. In face, it's not mine. Somehow it found its way into my bag one day. It was such a curious book, I asked Cid to repair it for me. Well, I guess I'll put it here somewhere, for now . . . this book holds a great secret; I suppose the missing pages will unlock it.' Merlin waved a hand over the book, and it disappeared, reappearing on one of the tables beside the bed. I noticed that his magic wasn't really startling me anymore . . . 'I'll leave the book over there. Do look at it whenever you like; my best regards to Cid for repairing it for me. Oh, and about that stone of yours . . . you should ask the Fairy Godmother about that.'

Sora turned to the Fairy Godmother. 'Do you know what this is?' he asked.

The Fairy Godmother immediately looked shocked over the jewel. I wondered where he had gotten it; I knew he didn't have it while we were all on Destiny Islands . . . 'Oh, the poor thing!' Godmother cried. 'He's turned into a summon gem.'

'A summon gem?' Sora repeated, as did I.

'This little creature lived in a world that was consumed by darkness.' Godmother explained.

Like Destiny Islands were . . . I gasped. Was that what had happened? Our world had been destroyed?

'When a world vanishes, so do its inhabitants.'

What had happened to our friends? Wakka? Selphie? Tidus?

'But this one had such a strong heart, he became a gem instead of vanishing with his world.' Godmother finished.

'Can he regain himself?' Sora questioned.

'Yes,' she answered, 'but only his spirit. Now, watch!' She drew a long, thin stick of wood from her sleeve, a wand. 'Bibbity bobbity boo!' This was obviously some sort of spell, as the stone flashed once, then returned to its normal colour. 'Whenever you call, he will help you,' said Godmother. 'If you find any more of these, bring them to me. Don't worry, though, when their worlds are restored, they will return there. Sora, please help them.'

'Don't worry, I will,' Sora said. I wonder what he's like . . . I wonder how strong he was to become a summon gem.

'You'd best go see Cid before going anywhere else,' Merlin told Sora.

Sora nodded again, pushing through the curtain hanging over the door. I looked around. We stood on a small island inside a cave, surrounded by water. Sora walked around to the front, and I saw several large, flat stones floating on the water, swinging back and forth across the top of the water. Sora made it across the first, the second, the third—on the fourth stone he slipped, falling into the water. I giggled as he bobbed up to the surface; the water hadn't even fazed me. Instead of climbing back onto the stone, however, Sora just swam to the other side, climbing back onto solid ground. 'So, where should we go next?' Sora asked.

'Cid told us to meet him at that vacant house . . .' the dogperson reminded Sora. In Merlin's house, I'd learned him to be Goofy.

'Right,' Sora nodded, and we set off, heading towards the orangey light coming from around the bend. There, the red door rose up silently, and we moved through it. Outside, a shadow-like thing rose from the ground, yellow eyes glowing eerily. A Heartless! Sora shouted mentally, watching it as it prepared to attack.

Before it could, however, a reddish thing slashed through it, the Heartless disappearing into smoke. 'There you are,' Riku said. 'What's going on?'

'Riku!' Sora shouted, both physically and mentally. Is he for real? Is this a dream? Sora grabbed at Riku's face, stretching it out.

Riku swatted his hands away. 'Hey, hey, cut it out!'

'I'm not dreaming this time, right?'

'I hope not.' Riku responded. 'Took forever to find you.'

'Riku—' Sora began, then paused. 'Wait a second, where's Kairi?'

'Isn't she with you?' I giggled, because it was true, I was with Sora. 'Well, don't worry. I'm sure she made it off the island, too.' Yes, he was sure—he should have been, at least, after seeing me at Hollow Bastion. 'Hey, she might even be looking for us now.' As Riku continued, another shadow rose from the ground behind him. 'We'll all be together again soon,' he continued, oblivious to the danger behind him and walking past Sora. 'Don't worry. Just leave everything to me. I know this—'

As Sora swung something through the Heartless, I switched from Sora's viewpoint to Riku's. Riku swivelled around as the Heartless exploded under the blade. The Keyblade. Sora grinned, flipping it up over his shoulder. 'Leave it to who?'

'Sora, what did you—' Riku started to ask, but was interrupted by Sora.

'I've been looking for you and Kairi, too, with their help,' he nodded at Donald and Goofy.

'Who . . . are they?' Riku questioned.

Donald cleared his throat. 'My name is—'

'We visited so many places and worlds, looking for you,' Sora interrupted again. Sora's acting so . . . strange, Riku said. He never used to be . . . rude like that. Maybe . . . maybe Maleficent was right; maybe Sora only cares about that Key anymore.

'Really? Well, what do you know?' Riku chuckled, but it sounded a bit forced to me. 'I never would have guessed.'

'Oh, and guess what!' Goofy said, putting his hands on Sora's shoulders. 'Sora's the Keyblade master! Who would've thought it?'

'What's that mean?!' Sora argued.

Riku held up the Keyblade, looking at it. It was the same one from Maleficent's image . . . I bit my lip. Maybe she had been right. 'So, this is called a Keyblade?' He asked.

'Huh?' Sora looked down at his empty hands, then up at Riku. 'Hey, give it back!' he tried to grab it, but Riku only stepped backwards.

Do you only need it because it makes you more powerful? Is that all you care about now, Sora? 'Catch!' Riku called, tossing the Keyblade at Sora, who caught it.

'Okay, so, you're coming with us, right?' Sora asked. 'We've got this awesome rocket. Wait til you see it!'

Maybe . . . Maleficent was lying. Trying to cloud my vision of you. But how do I know?

'No, he can't come!' Donald argued.

'What?!'

'Forget it!'

'Oh, come on! He's my friend!' Riku slipped into a side alley, watching the rest of their conversation. Only one way to find out if he's only hanging onto that thing for power . . . I wonder what he'll say when I'm not there?

'I don't care!' yelled Donald, he and Sora both unaware of Riku's disappearance.

'He's gone,' Goofy stated.

'Riku?' Sora called, then turned to look at Donald. 'Nice going.' He sighed. 'Oh, well. At least he's okay. And who knows? Maybe we'll run into Kairi soon, too.'

As he, Donald, and Goofy walked off, Riku stepped from the shadows. 'He didn't seem different,' he said to himself.

No, he didn't.

'Maleficent said that he didn't want to see me until he could best me at a fight.'

But he seemed happy to see you now, didn't he?

'But . . . he even wanted me to go with them. Maleficent had to have been lying!'

Right! Why would he turn on his best friend?

'Maybe I should go find them again . . .'

Of course you should! C'mon, let's go!

'They looked like they were heading for the stairs . . . maybe they went into the other districts.' Riku stood and walked across the main square of the district, ducking behind a wall and revealing a set of steps. He walked up and looked around, but there was no sign of Sora, Goofy, or Donald. Riku shrugged and pushed open a large set of doors marked with a 2. 'They should still be in the Second District . . . it's big enough that they wouldn't be to the door yet.' We stepped into a small alley, which Riku quickly navigated out of and into the main square of the district; it seemed all the districts had them. Riku looked around the square, both of us scanning it for Sora and company. They weren't there.

'Looking for someone?' Maleficent's creepy voice sounded behind us, and Riku spun around quickly.

'In a way . . .' he answered.

'Here,' she beckoned to him. 'Follow me . . .' Riku followed her through the doors back into the Third District, then pointed through a window into a small house, where Sora was laughing with Donald, Goofy, and three other figures.

'You see?' Maleficent questioned. 'It's just as I told you. While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions. Evidently, now he values them for more than he does you. You're better off without that wretched boy. Now, think no more of him, and come with me. I'll help you find what you're searching for . . .' She opened a portal behind us, and placed a hand on Riku's upper arm, guiding him into the portal as he stared behind at Sora, who just merrily laughed as his best friend was led away from him.

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Ari: **stares at computer screen** . . . wow. That was five pages long.
Riku: Is that supposed to mean anything?
Ari: Well . . . **is a bit hesitant to reveal this** in your Reflections, the chapters were only three pages long normally. Only the epilogue was five pages.
Riku: **takes it amazingly well** But that wasn't the entire story.
Ari: True . . . and I finished outlining this, and it's less chapters than yours—I think.
Riku: And didn't you say you were going to stretch it back to the beginning? **snerk**
Ari: Yup. Though . . . I found a plot bunny that won't leave me alone! **fumes** I don't have the time to work on three stories—heck, I'm having trouble just doing this one and Crossed Trails.
Riku: **exasperated look and is thankful she has no time for the last story** Thank the paopu . . .
Ari: Hey! I didn't say I wasn't writing it . . . I'm just not posting it until A) this story is finished, and B) I finish that one so that I'm not typing up the entire chapter the night before it has to be posted.
Riku: That's your own fault. You should've gotten the script part printed out you needed earlier—
Ari: Meh. I'm lazy.
Riku: Though not lazy enough to not write, I see . . .
Ari: =^_^=

Thanks to the following reviewers!

~ Pezman ~
. . . not really? ^^;; It's a bit hard to understand, but Kairi being a part of Riku and Sora has nothing to do with her heart.
Sorry if it sounds a bit . . . strange, but by the end of this fic, it'll be clear, and I love my idea on it **lol**

~ YamiMarita ~
**blinks** What do you mean, all this time? **doesn't get it** But, yeah, she was in Riku, then she was in Sora, and now she's in Riku again! ((for the time being . . . ^^;;;))
YAY I'm doing a fantastic job! **bows at the 'Bravo's** =^_^= I'm working hard on having the time to write, and luckily, normally in study hall, after finishing everything, I have about 15 minutes to write! Fwee! Then I write through Chem sometimes . . . yes, people need to update **coughcough** heh, anyways . . . **happiness ensues as Ari wastes everyone's time**

~ TennyoAngel711 ~
Me? Understanding?
Riku: **mutters** that's a first . . .
Ari: **brandishes Sephiroth's sword** Hush, you.
Riku: Remind me to make sure Y.B. can't 'help' you cheat and win next week . . .
Ari: =^_^= Anyways . . . rings! **needs a ring** meh.
Heh, yup, Kairi can't only be with Sora, right? Riku needs a little love, too! ((I think everyone wants to be in Riku, too, and I also think that doesn't sound right . . . ^^;;;))
Yeap, I'm working hard on the reasoning why Riku's working with Maleficent and Ansem, because he just wouldn't for no good reason . . .
**waits for chapter 2**

~ Samurainoble ~
That, my dear, is what is called 'Artistic license'. I get to twist this story around however I want it to, so long as it stays true to canon! The only thing they really said was that Kairi's heart was within Sora. They never said when . . . we all assume that it was the Secret Place, but really, do we know?
**blinks** Whoa. I just pulled an Artemis.
Riku: It must be the afteraffects of that rpg.
Ari: That gave me a headache . . . anyways, I'm glad that you think this is interesting and that I got Maleficent's portrayal right, tis what I'm aiming for!! ^_^

Special thanks to Outlaw-Lanaya for putting me on your Favourite Authors list!! ^____^

**Ari passes out** I've got over ten people putting me on their Favourite Authors' lists . . . in my experience, it's harder to get onto a Favourite Author list than a Favourite Stories list . . . **sobs** I feel so loved!
Tom: You shouldn't. It's not healthy.
Y.B.: Neither is this. **fwaps Ari** Stop feeling special/loved! You're not!
Ari: x.x itai . . .